R. Kelly ‘cult’ claims and past controversies
Singer R. Kelly is accused of holding women in a “cult.” Here’s a look back at the Grammy-winner's past controversies
For years R. Kelly has been dogged by allegations of sexual encounters involving minors. Following the release of Lifetime's "Surviving R. Kelly," the singer saw a tumultuous 2019 in which he faced multiple arrests and a wealth of newfound charges.
A bribery charge in December 2019 followed a string of alarming headlines for the 52-year-old R&B star — who has been sued by multiple women and previously battled child pornography charges. Here are some of his major controversies over the past 25-plus years.
Marriage to Aaliyah, August 1994
Kelly was 27 years old when he married his manager’s niece, 15-year-old singer Aaliyah, who said she was 18 years old on the marriage certificate, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in December 2000.
Aaliyah’s family learned about the marriage and split the couple up, according to WBEZ. The marriage was annulled in October 1994.
In 1997, Aaliyah sought to have the marriage records expunged, the Sun-Times reported. She died in an August 2001 plane crash at age 21.
R. KELLY CHARGED WITH PAYING BRIBE BEFORE MARRIAGE TO AALIYAH
In a GQ interview published in 2016, the topic of the reported marriage came up. Kelly responded that “because of Aaliyah's passing, as I've always said, out of respect for her mother who's sick and her father who's passed, I will never have that conversation with anyone.”
Tiffany Hawkins sues R. Kelly for $10 million on Christmas Eve, December 1996
Hawkins alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Kelly which started when she was 15 years old in 1991 and stopped in 1994, according to the Sun-Times. Hawkins also claimed that Kelly “encouraged her to participate in group sex with him and other underage girls,” the report said.
Kelly reportedly settled with Hawkins for $250,000 in 1998. Kelly’s attorney Gerry Margolis told the Sun-Times that “the settlement is confidential, I have nothing else to say about that case now or ever.”
Tracy Sampson sues Kelly for $50,000, August 2001
Sampson alleged she and Kelly had a sexual relationship from 2000 to 2001 and that he knew she was 17, according to MTV. Kelly said that he didn’t have sex with Sampson, the Sun-Times reported, and he settled with her for an undisclosed amount in April 2002.
R. KELLY'S SEXUAL ABUSE TRIAL SET FOR SEPTEMBER 2020
Video is sent anonymously to the Sun-Times, February 2002
R&B singer R. Kelly leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building following a hearing on June 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Prosecutors turned over to Kelly's defense team a DVD that alleges to show Kelly having sex with an underage girl in the 1990s. Kelly has been charged with multiple sex crimes involving four women, three of whom were underage at the time of the alleged encounters. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A video that purportedly depicted Kelly and an underage girl engaging in graphic sex acts was mailed to the Sun-Times, the newspaper said in a February 2002 article, which added that police were investigating.
“Any tape you have is a fake, and we find the timing of these events to be extremely suspicious,” Kelly’s attorney John M. Touhy told the Sun-Times.
Patrice Jones files $50,000 lawsuit against Kelly, April 2002
Jones was 20 when she sued Kelly, alleging that she met him in 1998 when she was 16 and that they had a sexual relationship that lasted nine months, MTV reported. Jones also claimed that Kelly pressured her to have an abortion when she was 17.
Kelly’s attorney, Margolis, was quoted as saying at the time that the lawsuit “is a collection of half-truths, distortions and outright lies that we intend to fight and beat.” The singer settled with Jones for an undisclosed amount.
R. KELLY ACCUSED OF HOUSING A 'CULT' OF WOMEN IN SHOCKING REPORT
Montina Woods sues Kelly, May 2002
Woods was 33 when she sued Kelly for $50,000 and alleged that Kelly had secretly recorded Woods and Kelly having sex at a Chicago music studio. A rep for Kelly told MTV, “This one falls under the category of people just piling on.” Kelly settled with the dancer for an undisclosed amount.
Kelly is indicted on 21 counts of child pornography, June 2002
R. Kelly arrives at the Daley Center for a hearing in his child support case on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Chicago. (AP)
Kelly was indicted in Chicago and was arrested at his Florida home. “Even though I don't believe any of these charges are warranted, I'm grateful that I will have a chance to establish the truth about me in a court of law,” Kelly said in a statement. He pleaded not guilty.
Seven charges were dropped due to a technicality in February 2004, MTV reported at the time.
R. KELLY ARRESTED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, CHARGED WITH RACKETEERING AND SEX-RELATED CRIMES
Kelly is acquitted of all 14 child pornography charges, June 2008
In this Sept. 17, 2019 file photo, R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. A federal judge in New York City has denied bail to the R&B singer his sex-abuse case. Kelly didn’t attend the hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 2, on a defense motion asking for his release on bond. (Antonio Perez/via AP Pool, File)
Kelly was acquitted after less than a day of deliberations in his child pornography trial. The Grammy award-winning singer had faced 15 years in prison if convicted.
The month-long trial centered on whether Kelly was the man who appeared on a sexually graphic videotape at the heart of the case, and whether a female who also appeared on it was underage.
Kelly and the alleged victim each denied they were the ones on the tape, and neither of them testified. Some witnesses identified the alleged victim as the woman on the tape, while others did not.
“Cult” accusations, 2017
Kelly was accused of holding multiple women of legal age in a “cult,” according to allegations detailed by BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed cited three women who it said were once in the singer’s “inner circle.” The women claimed that Kelly housed six women at his Chicago and Atlanta properties and “controls every aspect of their lives” like food, clothing, and sexual activity, according to the report.
“You have to ask for food,” Kelly's former assistant Cheryl Mack told BuzzFeed. “You have to ask to go use the bathroom. … [Kelly] is a master at mind control. ... He is a puppet master.”
“Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name,” his attorney Linda Mensch told Page Six.
R. KELLY'S LAWYERS CLAIM BIZARRE 'HARDSHIPS' IN JAIL
"Surviving R. Kelly" airs on Lifetime, January 2019
R. Kelly performs at the BET Awards in Los Angeles. Multiple outlets have reported that Sony Music has dropped embattled R&B star R. Kelly from its roster. The announcement comes two weeks after the popular documentary series "Surviving R. Kelly" recently drew fresh attention to the sex abuse allegations against R. Kelly, which has dogged him most of his career. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Invision/AP, File)
In a bombshell docuseries released by Lifetime, "Surviving R. Kelly" shed new light on Kelly's troubled past and put the spotlight back on the embattled singer.
The docuseries featured interviews from some of his alleged accusers, many of whom said they were underage at the time of the alleged encounters. He denied all of the allegations.
The docuseries received critical acclaim, boasting a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Following the show's release, Sony and Kelly parted ways.
The following month, Kelly was arrested for 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse involving at least three underage victims. His bond was set at $1 million.
LIFETIME TO AIR 'SURVIVING R. KELLY' FOLLOWUP SPECIAL
Kelly's bombshell interview with Gayle King, March 2019
Gayle King interviews R. Kelly on "CBS This Morning." (CBS)
Kelly vehemently denied any accusations towards him in an explosive interview with CBS' Gayle King in March 2019.
"They are still talking about you with underage girls. Do you still sit here and say you have never been with underage girls. Can you really say that?" King questioned Kelly during the interview.
"I sit here and say this," Kelly responded. "I had two cases back then that I said in the beginning of the interview that I would not talk about because of my ongoing case now.
R. KELLY DOESN'T WANT EX-WIFE SPEAKING ABOUT HIM PUBLICLY
"[I did] lots of things wrong when it comes to women but I apologized in those relationships," he later continued. He adamantly denied breaking any laws when it comes to women.
"Everybody says something bad about me. Nobody said something good. They was describing Lucifer. I'm not Lucifer. I'm a man. I made mistakes, but I'm not a devil."
Kelly hit with 11 sex-related charges, May 2019
Kelly faced new troubles when he was met with 11 new sex-related charges in May 2019. Some of the charges included aggravated criminal assault, criminal sexual assault by force, criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16, the Chicago Tribune reported.
According to the case filing, the first eight counts were from alleged encounters between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, 2010. Three others pertained to alleged encounters between May 1, 2009, and Jan. 31, 2010. The accuser was identified in court documents only as "J.P."
Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges.
R. KELLY POSTS BAIL, RELEASED AFTER WEEKEND IN JAIL IN CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE, OFFICIAL SAYS
Kelly charged with bribery related to Aaliyah marriage, December 2019
Kelly was hit with a new bribery charge allegedly related to his 1994 marriage to Aaliyah in December 2019.
The charge accused Kelly of scheming with others to pay for a “fraudulent identification document” for someone identified only as “Jane Doe” on Aug. 30, 1994, according to a superseding indictment unsealed on Dec. 5 and obtained by Fox News.
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A day later, Kelly, then 27, allegedly married Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, in a secret ceremony arranged by Kelly at a hotel in Chicago. The marriage was annulled months later because of her age.
Kelly ultimately pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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