R. Kelly wants judge to tell ex-wife to stop blasting him in public
Lawyers for R. Kelly want his ex-wife to stop slamming the R&B singer in public and suggest she should be fined — and jailed — for breaking a confidentiality clause in their divorce agreement.
The singer, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, and ex-wife Andrea Kelly are not supposed to take digs at each other under terms of the couple’s 2009 divorce settlement, but in a motion filed last week, lawyer Steve Greenberg said Andrea Kelly broke the silence mandated by the agreement by “appearing on countless media outlets disparaging Robert Kelly and making accusations and charges involving Robert.”
Andrea Kelly’s interviews with the producers of the “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary included accusations of abuse and manipulation during her marriage to the singer before the couple separated in the early 2000s.
Andrea Kelly has been profiting from denigrating her ex-husband in the media, Greenberg wrote, noting that she now is appearing on a television show called “Growing Up
Hip Hop” and has done “dozens” of interviews to promote it.
“She should further be required to disclose each and every appearance she has made where she has discussed Robert Kelly, divulge all income earned as a result thereof, be fined by this court an amount equal to or in excess of the amount she has earned from a breach of the agreement, and jailed,” Greenberg wrote.
The couple’s divorce has heated up in recent months as the Kellys have sparred over six-figure sums the singer owed for back child support, with R. Kelly jailed for three days in March after he failed to pay some $160,000. Weeks earlier, Kelly had spent another three nights behind bars as he struggled to come up with $100,000 bond after he was charged in criminal court with sexual abuse of four women, three of whom were underage.
Records in the Kellys’ divorce case were sealed in 2008, though a judge ruled in May that the files will be made public in coming weeks. The next hearing in the case is set for July 10, though it was not clear whether Greenberg’s demand for an immediate injunction against Andrea Kelly meant that there might be a hearing scheduled before then.
Andrea Kelly’s lawyer, Alison Motta, said R. Kelly has broken the agreement himself numerous times over the years when he talked about the couple’s marriage. The allegations swirling around the singer in lawsuits, his criminal cases and the documentary have aired plenty of intimate details of his life.
“There is nothing that’s confidential anymore,” Motta said. “Now he’s trying to punish her for forcing him to comply with his financial obligations. It’s just another attempt to punish and control her, this time from afar.”