Attorney: R. Kelly not holding women in cult
R. Kelly’s lawyer responded to allegations in a BuzzFeed News story that the R&B singer was holding six women in an abusive “cult.”
“Mr. Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him,” his attorney, Linda Mensch, said in a statement to People magazine. “Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name.”
Monday’s widely circulated BuzzFeed story details parents’ attempts to free their daughters from R. Kelly’s properties in Chicago and Georgia. Former members of Kelly’s inner circle told BuzzFeed that the women, ranging from teenagers to a 31-year-old, are required to call Kelly “Daddy.” Kelly, 50, reportedly confiscated their cellphones, dictates their daily activities and films their sexual encounters.
The parents of one teenager last saw their daughter, a singer, in December. They told BuzzFeed it seemed as though she had been “brainwashed.”
The artist was accused of sexual misconduct when he allegedly married R&B singer Aaliyah, then 15, in 1994 after serving as the primary songwriter on her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.” Kelly was sued multiple times for allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse with underage victims and was arrested in 2002 on child pornography charges. He was acquitted of the latter charge in 2008.