Summary: The parents of a young singer claim that R. Kelly keeps her as his sex slave.
R. Kelly is famous for his hit “Trapped in the Closet,” but does the singer also trap women? According to concerned parents of a woman in his entourage, the 50-year-old is a cult leader who tears families apart.
“J” told Buzzfeed that their 19-year-old daughter told them on May 23, 2015, that R.Kelly had agreed to launch her singing career after he had heard her recording demos. J said that they had met with the superstar after one of his shows and was impressed with his enthusiasm.
“When we got to go backstage with R. Kelly, we stayed there over two hours,” said J. “One-on-one with just me and my daughter and him. We went back to talk about the music. He listened to her CD. He was going to help her with her CD, and I was really impressed with him at first, because I have always been an R. Kelly fan.”
J said that R. Kelly had met her young daughter a month prior, and after their initial introduction, he flew her out to Indio on his dime. J said that she was aware of R. Kelly’s sexual reputation, which included an accusation of teen groupie sex with urine, but being a stage mom, she thought that she could protect her daughter.
“In the back of our minds, we were thinking [my daughter] could be around him if I was with her,” J. said. “It didn’t really hit home. Even with the Aaliyah situation, now that I think about it, ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number’ … but you don’t think about that. You grew up with the song, and you like the song.”
Flash forward to today, and J and her husband Tim desperately want their daughter to come home. J said that the young singer was “brainwashed” by R.Kelly and that she had contacted the FBI for help. However, the law enforcement agency said that J’s daughter was not a missing person or a kidnapped person. In fact, she lives with R.Kelly and has said that she is doing fine.
J’s daughter’s words should’ve been enough to quell J’s motherly fears, but three former members of R.Kelly’s inner circle confirm the parents’ concern that R.Kelly is running a cult. The former inner circle members, Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee, said that he controls the lives of six women in Chicago and Atlanta–they live in properties that he pays rent for and he dictates how they eat and dress. The ladies also said that R.Kelly has sex with all of them and records those encounters. R.Kelly even allegedly has a woman who trains new sex slaves into what the singer likes to have performed on him.
J said that the last time she had seen her daughter, she had looked like a “prisoner.”
“It was as if she was brainwashed. [She] looked like a prisoner — it was horrible,” J said. “I hugged her and hugged her. But she just kept saying she’s in love and [Kelly] is the one who cares for her. I don’t know what to do. I hope that if I get her back, I can get her treatment for victims of cults. They can reprogram her. But I wish I could have stopped it from happening.”
R.Kelly has had an illustrious 25-year career that has been smeared with controversy that did little to stifle his sales. With songs such as “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Trapped in the Closet,” R.Kelly has moved nearly 60 million albums and has sold out concert venues around the country.
Besides the allegations from J’s parents and his former inner circle, R.Kelly has also been accused by a Mississippi man of ruining his marriage. The man filed a lawsuit against R.Kelly for the act, which is illegal in the conservative state.
R.Kelly’s lawyer, Linda Mensch, said that the cult allegations compiled against R.Kelly were unfounded.
“We can only wonder why folks would persist in defaming a great artist who loves his fans, works 24/7, and takes care of all of the people in his life,” Mensch said to Buzzfeed. “He works hard to become the best person and artist he can be. It is interesting that stories and tales debunked many years ago turn up when his goal is to stop the violence; put down the guns; and embrace peace and love. I suppose that is the price of fame. Like all of us, Mr. Kelly deserves a personal life. Please respect that.”