R. Kelly silenced Aaliyah and her family through a non-disclosure agreement, following his marriage and subsequent annulment to the then 15-year-old singer.
The new allegations were made in the final installment of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. The docuseries centered around R. Kelly’s 2022 federal trial where the NDA was brought up in the courtroom as evidence. The late Aaliyah was Jane Doe #1 in the trial.
“Surviving R. Kelly” utilizes Aaliyah’s story to spotlight her as a victim of R. Kelly, after years of the media and music industry scandalizing her marriage to the now-convicted singer in the 90’s.
Aaliyah’s debut album in 1994 was titled “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number” and was recorded when she was 14-years-old. R. Kelly — who was Aaliyah’s mentor and was first introduced to her by her uncle, music executive and manager Barry Hankerson — was...
The new allegations were made in the final installment of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. The docuseries centered around R. Kelly’s 2022 federal trial where the NDA was brought up in the courtroom as evidence. The late Aaliyah was Jane Doe #1 in the trial.
“Surviving R. Kelly” utilizes Aaliyah’s story to spotlight her as a victim of R. Kelly, after years of the media and music industry scandalizing her marriage to the now-convicted singer in the 90’s.
Aaliyah’s debut album in 1994 was titled “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number” and was recorded when she was 14-years-old. R. Kelly — who was Aaliyah’s mentor and was first introduced to her by her uncle, music executive and manager Barry Hankerson — was...
- 1/4/2023
- by Elizabeth Wagmeister
- Variety Film + TV
When the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” debuted four years ago, R. Kelly was a free man. The R&b singer’s career had long been trailed by allegations of abusing underage girls, which first arose in the early ’90s, but he remained one of the most successful hitmakers of that decade and into the 2000s. Also during that time, Kelly was briefly jailed and brought to trial for a 2002 indictment on 21 counts of child pornography. He was acquitted in 2008.
Kelly’s circumvention of the justice system damaged his career as an artist, but didn’t end it. It wasn’t until “Surviving R. Kelly” premiered in early 2019 that public opinion began to change. The series was greenlit prior to the initial impact of the #MeToo movement in October 2017, and was the first programming event of the #MeToo era to give a voice to survivors, ultimately bringing justice from the...
Kelly’s circumvention of the justice system damaged his career as an artist, but didn’t end it. It wasn’t until “Surviving R. Kelly” premiered in early 2019 that public opinion began to change. The series was greenlit prior to the initial impact of the #MeToo movement in October 2017, and was the first programming event of the #MeToo era to give a voice to survivors, ultimately bringing justice from the...
- 1/2/2023
- by Elizabeth Wagmeister
- Variety Film + TV
At a time when the true-crime genre has reached a creative nadir, as streaming services churn out assembly-line products that prioritize shock value over victims’ stories — and even stoop to paying perpetrators for exclusive access — Surviving R. Kelly stands out.
Premiering in January 2019, Dream Hampton’s docuseries painted a damning portrait of the R&b legend’s decades-long pattern of grooming and abuse via interviews with survivors, journalists, enablers, and eyewitnesses. The Lifetime program was a Greek chorus of grief indicting not just Kelly but an industry that went to great pains to protect him,...
Premiering in January 2019, Dream Hampton’s docuseries painted a damning portrait of the R&b legend’s decades-long pattern of grooming and abuse via interviews with survivors, journalists, enablers, and eyewitnesses. The Lifetime program was a Greek chorus of grief indicting not just Kelly but an industry that went to great pains to protect him,...
- 12/31/2022
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
Chicago, Il — The defense teams in the R. Kelly federal trial at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse rested on Friday following three days of testimony from the disgraced singer’s former business manager and co-defendant.
On Derrel McDavid’s third day on the stand on Friday, he faced cross examination from the government as the trial rounded out its fourth week. The Cpa-turned-business-manager McDavid has insisted he wholly believed the disgraced singer’s claims that he never engaged in sexual acts with minors while they worked together from the early Nineties until 2014 throughout his testimony.
On Derrel McDavid’s third day on the stand on Friday, he faced cross examination from the government as the trial rounded out its fourth week. The Cpa-turned-business-manager McDavid has insisted he wholly believed the disgraced singer’s claims that he never engaged in sexual acts with minors while they worked together from the early Nineties until 2014 throughout his testimony.
- 9/10/2022
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Chicago, Il — R. Kelly’s alleged underage sexual assault victim, known under the pseudonym Jane and central to his child pornography federal trial in Chicago, was heard apologizing to her alleged abuser multiple times in more than one videotape clip submitted as evidence by the prosecution on Friday. The graphic videotapes were shown to jurors on Friday at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where the tape — featuring clips from three different videos — was not seen by the public or media. Instead, audio was heard in the courthouse.
Kelly is facing multiple...
Kelly is facing multiple...
- 8/20/2022
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Chicago, Il — R. Kelly’s former goddaughter testified that she had sex with the disgraced singer for the first time when she was 15, and that they had sex “hundreds” of times, sometimes with other underage girls.
The goddaughter, now 37 and testifying at Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago Thursday Aug. 18 under the pseudonym “Jane,” said she first had sexual contact with Kelly when she was 14. Intercourse, Jane said, occurred for the first time the following year. She also claimed she had group sex with Kelly and other underage girls, including...
The goddaughter, now 37 and testifying at Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago Thursday Aug. 18 under the pseudonym “Jane,” said she first had sexual contact with Kelly when she was 14. Intercourse, Jane said, occurred for the first time the following year. She also claimed she had group sex with Kelly and other underage girls, including...
- 8/19/2022
- by Althea Legaspi and Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Chicago — R. Kelly appeared in court Monday for the first day of his second trial in Chicago in 14 years. It began with jury selection in his federal trial where he faces child pornography and obstruction of justice charges.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber questioned nearly 60 potential jurors over six hours at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, with a focus on how much they knew about the disgraced R&B singer. The 55-year-old singer was already convicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in New York federal court; he was...
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber questioned nearly 60 potential jurors over six hours at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, with a focus on how much they knew about the disgraced R&B singer. The 55-year-old singer was already convicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in New York federal court; he was...
- 8/16/2022
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
At the end of last year, the music industry was on the receiving end of a double-barreled blast of recrimination from one of Hollywood’s most revered creators. Issa Rae was in the midst of a victory lap, celebrating the final season of her acclaimed HBO series Insecure, when she casually described the music business as “probably the worst industry” she has “ever come across.” Her critique, delivered during an interview with The Los Angeles Times, escalated with steady force, rising from “conflicts of interest abound” to more blunt condemnation:...
- 2/4/2022
- by Elias Leight
- Rollingstone.com
Dominque Gardner, whose surprise defection from R. Kelly was one of the key moments in Surviving R. Kelly, agreed to speak on camera for the first time about her time with the singer for Lifetime’s upcoming docuseries Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning.
“Before Dominque met R. Kelly, she was this bubbly teenager,” her mother Michelle Kramer says in the clip. “But after R. Kelly, she was dark. She was like a loner; she didn’t want to be bothered with nobody.”
Kramer’s efforts to reestablish contact...
“Before Dominque met R. Kelly, she was this bubbly teenager,” her mother Michelle Kramer says in the clip. “But after R. Kelly, she was dark. She was like a loner; she didn’t want to be bothered with nobody.”
Kramer’s efforts to reestablish contact...
- 12/30/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
When “Surviving R. Kelly” debuted last January on Lifetime, the six-part documentary series re-ignited the conversation around #MeToo, galvanizing the black community by exposing one its most popular artists as an alleged sexual predator. Just weeks later, “Leaving Neverland” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival amid protests from supporters of Michael Jackson, whose adult victims provided painstaking firsthand accounts of the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of the late performer. While many were horrified by the accounts in both docu-series, others were angered by what they viewed as a targeted campaign against black men. “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning,” airing over three nights this January, explores the surprising aftermath of the series, which included threats and online attacks aimed at many of the survivors who spoke out.
“The backlash we have seen as a result of not just R. Kelly but #MeToo in general, in particular...
“The backlash we have seen as a result of not just R. Kelly but #MeToo in general, in particular...
- 12/19/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
It’s hard to imagine that R. Kelly would be in jail today without “Surviving R. Kelly,” the Lifetime docuseries that aired just under a year ago and threw decades of sexual-assault and misconduct allegations against the singer into dramatic relief. Just six weeks after the series aired, the singer was arrested on a new set of allegations that were soon joined by more allegations, and now he faces multiple charges in three states, and the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
That it took a dramatically produced docuseries to produce a result that years of investigative reporting and legal action could not is itself a statement about this country and this culture. That is one of the many collateral effects explored in the second part of the series, “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning,” and a panel discussion that immediately followed a media preview...
That it took a dramatically produced docuseries to produce a result that years of investigative reporting and legal action could not is itself a statement about this country and this culture. That is one of the many collateral effects explored in the second part of the series, “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning,” and a panel discussion that immediately followed a media preview...
- 12/18/2019
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Without overstating the case, it’s hard to imagine that R. Kelly would not be in jail today if not for “Surviving R. Kelly.” While many of the details and accusers featured in the Lifetime docuseries were new, the primary facts have been known for many years — and yet the series, more than any of the news reports over the decade since he was acquitted on child-pornography charges in 2008, put all of the facts into a single powerful context. And the fact that there was a gun threat at the docuseries’ first screening in New York only amplified the air of criminality around it.
Almost exactly one year later, “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning” takes a look at the events of the past year that led to multiple new charges and accusations against the singer, the demise of his empire and his current indefinite incarceration as he awaits trial in three states.
Almost exactly one year later, “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning” takes a look at the events of the past year that led to multiple new charges and accusations against the singer, the demise of his empire and his current indefinite incarceration as he awaits trial in three states.
- 12/11/2019
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Lifetime isn't done with R. Kelly. The network announced the premiere date for Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning with a haunting new trailer. The three-night event kicks off on January 2 and will feature new interviews from a variety of perspectives, including new survivors, supporters, psychologists and experts. Investigative journalist and author Jim DeRogatis, Damon Dash, Mathew Knowles, Jimmy Maynes, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, W. Kamau Bell, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Angela Yee, Jamilah Lemieux, Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx, Gloria Allred and more are set for the sequel to the Emmy nominated series. In a press release, Lifetime said Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning will offer...
- 12/11/2019
- E! Online
Lifetime announced Wednesday that Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning — the previously announced follow-up to the network’s probing look into the singer’s alleged sexual abuse — will air in early 2020.
The first half of the two-night, four-hour special will premiere January 3rd, with the second part to follow January 4th. On January 2nd, before Part II, Lifetime will air the six-hour Surviving R. Kelly in its entirety.
Part II looks back at the immediate cultural impact in the aftermath of Surviving R. Kelly, as well as runs down...
The first half of the two-night, four-hour special will premiere January 3rd, with the second part to follow January 4th. On January 2nd, before Part II, Lifetime will air the six-hour Surviving R. Kelly in its entirety.
Part II looks back at the immediate cultural impact in the aftermath of Surviving R. Kelly, as well as runs down...
- 12/11/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Lifetime has released the trailer and premiere date for its three-part “Surviving R. Kelly” follow up, now titled “The Reckoning.”
The new docuseries, which will air over three nights between Jan. 2-4, 2020, will feature interviews from a variety of perspectives including with new survivors, supporters, psychologists and cultural and legal experts, and will provide more insights into the ever-growing saga of the R&b singer, who is currently facing federal and state charges.
New interviewees include Michael Avenatti, Dame Dash, Michael Knowles, Gloria Allred and longtime music reporter Jim DeRogatis, who was one of the first reporters to look into Kelly’s behavior, more than 20 years ago.
Also Read: R Kelly Bribed Government Employee to Obtain Fake ID for Aaliyah (Report)
In February, Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, based on accusations from four different accusers. In May, 11 additional felony counts were filed against him, including...
The new docuseries, which will air over three nights between Jan. 2-4, 2020, will feature interviews from a variety of perspectives including with new survivors, supporters, psychologists and cultural and legal experts, and will provide more insights into the ever-growing saga of the R&b singer, who is currently facing federal and state charges.
New interviewees include Michael Avenatti, Dame Dash, Michael Knowles, Gloria Allred and longtime music reporter Jim DeRogatis, who was one of the first reporters to look into Kelly’s behavior, more than 20 years ago.
Also Read: R Kelly Bribed Government Employee to Obtain Fake ID for Aaliyah (Report)
In February, Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, based on accusations from four different accusers. In May, 11 additional felony counts were filed against him, including...
- 12/11/2019
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
When asked about R. Kelly’s recent interview with Gayle King, “Surviving R. Kelly” showrunner, dream hampton (purposefully stylized in lowercase) says it “was like a shadow of watching Brett Kavanaugh’s performance on the Hill,” referencing last year’s confirmation hearings for the now-Supreme Court justice. While both of those displays of public outrage disturbed hampton, she also believed that if Kelly had acknowledged his own faults and took the time to get the proper health, he could have destroyed the effect of the documentary. In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), she adds, “He probably would have undone all the work that our team just did with ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ and I promise you all his fans and haters would have been giving him good will had he chosen that route instead of the performance that he gave.”
SEEEmmy category submissions for A&e, History Channel and Lifetime
“Surviving R.
SEEEmmy category submissions for A&e, History Channel and Lifetime
“Surviving R.
- 8/13/2019
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
The sordid saga of Jeffrey Epstein has turned into a teachable moment for activists involved in criminal justice reform.
The criminal case unfolding in New York against the hedge fund manager accused of sexually abusing teenage girls also stands as a prime example of journalism’s role in holding the powerful accountable and putting a spotlight on shortcomings of the legal system.
Epstein was arrested July 6 in New Jersey and is facing multiple charges of what prosecutors called “a years-long scheme to sexually abuse underage girls” at his homes in New York and Florida. He is being held in a Manhattan jail awaiting a judge’s ruling on his bail request.
In 2008, Epstein was convicted in Florida on two state charges of soliciting prostitution with a minor. But he had been facing more serious federal charges – involving molestation accusations from dozens of underage girls — until he was able to cut...
The criminal case unfolding in New York against the hedge fund manager accused of sexually abusing teenage girls also stands as a prime example of journalism’s role in holding the powerful accountable and putting a spotlight on shortcomings of the legal system.
Epstein was arrested July 6 in New Jersey and is facing multiple charges of what prosecutors called “a years-long scheme to sexually abuse underage girls” at his homes in New York and Florida. He is being held in a Manhattan jail awaiting a judge’s ruling on his bail request.
In 2008, Epstein was convicted in Florida on two state charges of soliciting prostitution with a minor. But he had been facing more serious federal charges – involving molestation accusations from dozens of underage girls — until he was able to cut...
- 7/17/2019
- by Cynthia Littleton and Elaine Low
- Variety Film + TV
R. Kelly was arrested Thursday evening on federal sex crime charges, NBC New York reports. According to two law enforcement officials, the singer was apprehended in Chicago and is expected to be brought to New York.
NYPD detectives and Homeland Security investigator agents arrested Kelly on sex trafficking charges. Darrell Johnson, a rep for Kelly, declined to comment to Rolling Stone, but noted that he will hold a press conference on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. in Atlanta to address the charges.
Kelly’s lawyer Steven Greenberg issued a statement Friday morning,...
NYPD detectives and Homeland Security investigator agents arrested Kelly on sex trafficking charges. Darrell Johnson, a rep for Kelly, declined to comment to Rolling Stone, but noted that he will hold a press conference on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. in Atlanta to address the charges.
Kelly’s lawyer Steven Greenberg issued a statement Friday morning,...
- 7/12/2019
- by Althea Legaspi and Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Stars: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Adam Goldberg, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp | Written and Directed by Richard Linklater
A certain generation regards this 1993 comedy-drama from Richard “Boyhood” Linklater as their The Breakfast Club. Except its period setting makes it a recollection rather than a snapshot, so it has more in common with George Lucas’s American Graffiti. Dazed & Confused similarly cautions against nostalgia, reminding us that, whatever the decade, youth is a challenging and awkward time; joyous for some and cruel for others.
In typical Linklater style, the action takes place within a tight timeframe: the last day of school in the year 1976. (“School’s out for summer!” cries Alice Cooper – one of many on-the-nose music cues throughout the film.) Unleashed, an array of students and ex-students run rampant around town, bickering and bantering, picking on the younger kids, while looking forward to what feels like the last party of their childhood.
A certain generation regards this 1993 comedy-drama from Richard “Boyhood” Linklater as their The Breakfast Club. Except its period setting makes it a recollection rather than a snapshot, so it has more in common with George Lucas’s American Graffiti. Dazed & Confused similarly cautions against nostalgia, reminding us that, whatever the decade, youth is a challenging and awkward time; joyous for some and cruel for others.
In typical Linklater style, the action takes place within a tight timeframe: the last day of school in the year 1976. (“School’s out for summer!” cries Alice Cooper – one of many on-the-nose music cues throughout the film.) Unleashed, an array of students and ex-students run rampant around town, bickering and bantering, picking on the younger kids, while looking forward to what feels like the last party of their childhood.
- 6/10/2019
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
For most of the decade between his 2008 acquittal on child pornography charges and 10-count indictment on aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges in February, R. Kelly’s star continued to rise. While the R&B superstar wasn’t selling at nearly the same level as previous years, he still published his memoir Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me, created new chapters of “hip hopera” Trapped in the Closet, performed at numerous top festivals and enlisted myriad A-list collaborations, all while emerging virtually unscathed from any legal trouble. Many willingly ignored accusations of sexual abuse,...
- 6/5/2019
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Robert Christgau is one of the most influential rock critics of all time. He’s also an invaluable book critic, and now he’s releasing Book Reports: A Music Critic on His First Love, Which Was Reading, via Duke University Press, a collection of reviews covering everything from fiction to cultural theory to musicology. In this classic piece, which originally appeared in the Village Voice in 2000, he dives into three books by fellow rock critics: Jim DeRogatis’s Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America’s Greatest Rock Critic,...
- 4/30/2019
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
The rope scarred James Cameron’s neck. That’s how close he came to dying in 1930. The same mob that had already lynched two other suspects in a white man’s murder spared the 16-year-old when, as he would tell it, a voice proclaimed his innocence. Cameron thus became the only known survivor of a lynching attempt in the United States when he died in 2006 at age 92. There haven’t been any others since, no matter what Clarence Thomas would have you believe.
Fifteen years after the eventual Supreme Court...
Fifteen years after the eventual Supreme Court...
- 2/26/2019
- by Jamil Smith
- Rollingstone.com
Authorities are reportedly investigating a new videotape that appears to show R. Kelly having sex with an allegedly underage girl, CNN reports.
The tape was obtained by lawyer Michael Avenetti, who is representing several clients connected to R. Kelly’s alleged sexual assault of minors. Per CNN, Avenetti handed over the tape to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago last weekend.
Reporter Jim DeRogatis — who has been covering R. Kelly for nearly 20 years – confirmed in The New Yorker that law enforcement officials have the tape, adding...
The tape was obtained by lawyer Michael Avenetti, who is representing several clients connected to R. Kelly’s alleged sexual assault of minors. Per CNN, Avenetti handed over the tape to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago last weekend.
Reporter Jim DeRogatis — who has been covering R. Kelly for nearly 20 years – confirmed in The New Yorker that law enforcement officials have the tape, adding...
- 2/14/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
After news broke on January 18th that R. Kelly’s longtime label, RCA, was dropping him, his spokesperson predicted that another label would snatch him up and his career would continue as always. “I can’t quite speak on the labels, and whether they’re indie or major, but the interest is there,” Don Russell, a longtime Kelly friend who is acting as an advisor and consultant, claims to Rolling Stone. “We’ve got a handful of files to deal with. Rob is an international star.”
The Chicago singer would appear to be toxic,...
The Chicago singer would appear to be toxic,...
- 1/30/2019
- by Steve Knopper
- Rollingstone.com
Veteran reporter Jim DeRogatis is no stranger to strong allegations against R. Kelly: He’s the reporter who in 2000 received the sex tape that prosecutors alleged showed the singer having sex with a 14-year-old girl, and which led to Kelly’s highly publicized 2008 trial on child-pornography charges. Although that case was ultimately dismissed, multiple allegations of sexual misconduct have surrounded the singer since the mid-1990s — including his alleged illegal marriage to singer Aaliyah, when she was just 15 — and last summer DeRogatis reported that three sets of parents claim Kelly is holding their daughters in an abusive “cult.”
Those reports claim that the young women fell under Kelly’s sway after being brought to him by their parents in an effort to further their musical careers, but that he then “brainwashed” them and now keeps several young women at his homes in Atlanta and Chicago; replaces their cell phones...
Those reports claim that the young women fell under Kelly’s sway after being brought to him by their parents in an effort to further their musical careers, but that he then “brainwashed” them and now keeps several young women at his homes in Atlanta and Chicago; replaces their cell phones...
- 7/23/2018
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Jerhonda Pace tells BuzzFeed News’ Jim DeRogatis that she is violating a nondisclosure agreement to publicly discuss the singer.
- 8/22/2017
- by Halle Kiefer
- Vulture
R. Kelly is back in the news these days because he has a new album. But R. Kelly has also been accused of rape multiple times, which is something that either gets glossed over or ignored completely. These serious and credible allegations first made major news in 2000, when Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim DeRogatis and courts reporter Abdon M. Pallasch wrote a story detailing Kelly's predatory behavior toward teenage girls, including his marriage to a 15-year-old Aaliyah. DeRogatis has continued to report on Kelly, and in a story today he spoke with the Village Voice's Jessica Hopper.DeRogatis: I think in the history of rock & roll, rock-music or pop-culture people misbehaving and behaving badly sexually with young women, rare is the amount of evidence compiled against anyone apart from R. Kelly. Dozens of girls — not one, not two, dozens — with harrowing lawsuits. The videotapes — and not...
- 12/16/2013
- by Margaret Lyons
- Vulture
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