A solid follow up to last years Life time hit. New victims with new stories and evidence further cementing Kelly's guilt. You also get to see what has happened to the victims and Kelly in the past year.Enough new evidence and progression to stand alone as a solid documentary, combined with the first it is a well rounded piece that does well to explore Kelly's early life and mental state all the while delivering incriminating evidence against him. Not quite O. J made in America but a very engrossing watch
4 Reviews
A bit weaker than season 1
JurijFedorov4 July 2022
Did it need a season 2? Yeah, I guess. The first season kickstarted the criminal case against R. Kelly so in reality the doc creates history as much as it uses history. After it was made R. Kelly was arrested and more people had more to say. Even a season 3 is seriously needed now as he has finally gone to prison for basically life because of season 1. It would complete the story. Now, the production is yet again lacking. The message is one of the most important documentary messages ever as it lead to a crime being solved. But it could have been much better. In this season they often retell the old stories from season 1 instead of only explaining what happened after the first season only. One of the victims from season 1 gets a full episode here. But her story was already partly told in season 1. They are just reusing old stories. They also go back in time to talk about R. Kelly's childhood again. They get a few new stories so it makes some sense. But I feel like the 2nd season should be edited into the first one or something. It's often just a few new opinions and interviews on old stories. They will keep getting new interviews especially after he has gone to prison and gone bankrupt and won't be able to pay his workers to stay quiet. I have seen a ton of interviews on Youtube too and they reveal much more in greater detail as they are not cut into small segments. In this doc it also looks like R. Kelly was clearly guilty. In the full interviews you actually see that he had a ton of normal workers, normal partners, and normal friends. Not everyone knew about this. Not even people who were hanging around him daily. He made sure his women didn't even look at other men so obviously the men there wouldn't know much about this.
The editing also lets it down yet again. At one point a woman tells the start of the story, then they repeat this, repeat it again, repeat it again, and then repeat it again with the ending too. Obnoxious editing. They are trying to create hype and tension by focusing on these nasty abuse stories. By only telling the initial part they hope to create fake tension to keep you interested. Which is a terrible idea. This is not a TV show where you wait a week for the next episode. Why is it made like one with all this fake drama? Furthermore it's repetitive and boring when it happens. Many complain about the loud music. Yeah, I mean everything here is a bit below par. The music is not breaking anything here, it's just another weird thing. A bit flashy youthful style. The documentary makers are clearly not good at this stuff. It's still a very good series and still a doc everyone needs to watch. I'd say you can skip season 2 and watch some Youtube interviews instead though.
R. Kelly had a ton of defenders in the Black community so this doc is still fighting some old misconceptions. Of course now it feels like they went from largely defending him to largely disliking him. The change has been extreme. With OJ the change was very slow. Initially most Black people supported OJ. Now a majority doesn't think he's innocent. He did spend some time in prison for a robbery and overall they don't care as much about him as he's old news. A giant part of the Black community still supports OJ, but there is a slow change. With R. Kelly the change post season 1 was extreme. There are still large support groups, but famous Black musicians now say they regret working with him and they have a large voice in the community. Once the leaders change their minds it's hard for followers to remain in the past. Which is why season 3 is essential. Make sure you convince the last unconvinced part.
Also, this season focuses a bit more on the White people too. First season was only about Black people telling their stories. This had a few White journalists and then a few former R. Kelly workers so the message was aimed at the abuse of women rather than a race. In the first season they interviewed a ton of people who used to work for R. Kelly and then didn't use a single second of some interviews from people who didn't know anything about the R. Kelly abuse and just said they saw him as a normal guy. Here a White Karen says that all these women are lying and that R. Kelly is fully innocent. She says that he was a witness for the prosecution in the sex tape case. But says that she was manipulated into giving them the identity of the girl and now regrets helping them as she sees the sex as consentual. Not sure what her point is. There is another Black female worker who gives interviews on TV saying similar stuff. As many other people she's not featured in the doc at all, but they likely have a ton of statements from her too. She says that she never saw anything criminal with R. Kelly and the girls. Some former male employees have said the same. They are all former employees and get nothing from R. Kelly for this I think. So what would they gain from lying? But then again if you saw an illegal sex tape with R. Kelly, you have seen some evidence and hints of all this conduct. So all his former workers should at least know he did some criminal stuff. Why are they claiming he is fully innocent? I think they want fame and fortune too. The people who hang out with famous people are likely often also interested in the spotlight.
Season 2 overall has way too much filler stuff. Of course we yet again get the constant repetition of interview segments. 2-3 episodes here are just people talking about how they feel. There is clearly not enough new content to fill out the episodes. One episode largely focuses on how Dave Chappelle was bad for joking about this and not apologizing for it now. Moral preaching instead of info about anything. Another episode is partly about how R. Kelly's music should not be played anywhere. They also talk about how we shouldn't blame the parents for letting their daughters initially work with and hang out with R. Kelly alone. It's a ton of moral opinions. In season one it was tolerable as the moral preaching was just seen in single interviews not full segments. Here full episodes are about just this. They really don't want anyone to blame the parents. Even though they were the ones who sent their daughters to another city, often alone, to work with a child predator. I'm blaming them for sure. They made some giant mistakes. I feel bad for them, but they let their greed blind them and it led to this horrible situation. They knew this would happen, but took the chance as they felt that maybe, just maybe, their daughter could be the next Aaliyah. Get properly paid for the pain and suffering. Of course instead R. Kelly forced the new girls to fully quit singing, to hate their own parents, and forbade them to contact anyone from their former life. So it didn't turn into easy money at all. They are mentally scarred for life unfortunately. This is also why all the former women signed NDA deals. The women who were hanging out with him wanted to be famous in the industry. They wanted a glamorous life. And many had suffered prior abuse and were easy victims. He didn't try to trick or abuse strong-minded women. He knew who he could abuse and when. And knew these type of women wouldn't go to the media or the police. It's all very interesting. But unfortunately I feel like the Youtube interviews reveal more than season 2. It's not really saying much about the case as it's made prior to the trial. And it's not really giving us deep new insight either as it's segment interviews not full interviews.
The editing also lets it down yet again. At one point a woman tells the start of the story, then they repeat this, repeat it again, repeat it again, and then repeat it again with the ending too. Obnoxious editing. They are trying to create hype and tension by focusing on these nasty abuse stories. By only telling the initial part they hope to create fake tension to keep you interested. Which is a terrible idea. This is not a TV show where you wait a week for the next episode. Why is it made like one with all this fake drama? Furthermore it's repetitive and boring when it happens. Many complain about the loud music. Yeah, I mean everything here is a bit below par. The music is not breaking anything here, it's just another weird thing. A bit flashy youthful style. The documentary makers are clearly not good at this stuff. It's still a very good series and still a doc everyone needs to watch. I'd say you can skip season 2 and watch some Youtube interviews instead though.
R. Kelly had a ton of defenders in the Black community so this doc is still fighting some old misconceptions. Of course now it feels like they went from largely defending him to largely disliking him. The change has been extreme. With OJ the change was very slow. Initially most Black people supported OJ. Now a majority doesn't think he's innocent. He did spend some time in prison for a robbery and overall they don't care as much about him as he's old news. A giant part of the Black community still supports OJ, but there is a slow change. With R. Kelly the change post season 1 was extreme. There are still large support groups, but famous Black musicians now say they regret working with him and they have a large voice in the community. Once the leaders change their minds it's hard for followers to remain in the past. Which is why season 3 is essential. Make sure you convince the last unconvinced part.
Also, this season focuses a bit more on the White people too. First season was only about Black people telling their stories. This had a few White journalists and then a few former R. Kelly workers so the message was aimed at the abuse of women rather than a race. In the first season they interviewed a ton of people who used to work for R. Kelly and then didn't use a single second of some interviews from people who didn't know anything about the R. Kelly abuse and just said they saw him as a normal guy. Here a White Karen says that all these women are lying and that R. Kelly is fully innocent. She says that he was a witness for the prosecution in the sex tape case. But says that she was manipulated into giving them the identity of the girl and now regrets helping them as she sees the sex as consentual. Not sure what her point is. There is another Black female worker who gives interviews on TV saying similar stuff. As many other people she's not featured in the doc at all, but they likely have a ton of statements from her too. She says that she never saw anything criminal with R. Kelly and the girls. Some former male employees have said the same. They are all former employees and get nothing from R. Kelly for this I think. So what would they gain from lying? But then again if you saw an illegal sex tape with R. Kelly, you have seen some evidence and hints of all this conduct. So all his former workers should at least know he did some criminal stuff. Why are they claiming he is fully innocent? I think they want fame and fortune too. The people who hang out with famous people are likely often also interested in the spotlight.
Season 2 overall has way too much filler stuff. Of course we yet again get the constant repetition of interview segments. 2-3 episodes here are just people talking about how they feel. There is clearly not enough new content to fill out the episodes. One episode largely focuses on how Dave Chappelle was bad for joking about this and not apologizing for it now. Moral preaching instead of info about anything. Another episode is partly about how R. Kelly's music should not be played anywhere. They also talk about how we shouldn't blame the parents for letting their daughters initially work with and hang out with R. Kelly alone. It's a ton of moral opinions. In season one it was tolerable as the moral preaching was just seen in single interviews not full segments. Here full episodes are about just this. They really don't want anyone to blame the parents. Even though they were the ones who sent their daughters to another city, often alone, to work with a child predator. I'm blaming them for sure. They made some giant mistakes. I feel bad for them, but they let their greed blind them and it led to this horrible situation. They knew this would happen, but took the chance as they felt that maybe, just maybe, their daughter could be the next Aaliyah. Get properly paid for the pain and suffering. Of course instead R. Kelly forced the new girls to fully quit singing, to hate their own parents, and forbade them to contact anyone from their former life. So it didn't turn into easy money at all. They are mentally scarred for life unfortunately. This is also why all the former women signed NDA deals. The women who were hanging out with him wanted to be famous in the industry. They wanted a glamorous life. And many had suffered prior abuse and were easy victims. He didn't try to trick or abuse strong-minded women. He knew who he could abuse and when. And knew these type of women wouldn't go to the media or the police. It's all very interesting. But unfortunately I feel like the Youtube interviews reveal more than season 2. It's not really saying much about the case as it's made prior to the trial. And it's not really giving us deep new insight either as it's segment interviews not full interviews.
Part 3 coming too?
kosmasp13 August 2022
One can imagine that there must be another mini series around the corner. And don't go victim blaming or shaming. This adds new stories and layers to the previous finds we had. It is incredible that R. Kelly was able to get away with the stuff he did for so long.
Many talk about him - and we get an even more intimate look into his backstory. When he grew up and what everything meant to him and his brothers. There is also things that we have seen before and that get re-checked here. Still riveting stuff to say the least ... and quite the harrowing stories (some also new).
There was evidence but there was also a lot of help he obviously got from many people. Now the question is: do you cancel or mute R. Kelly? And what does it mean if you don't? He is quite the big figure in the music industy. Some people he has worked for have apologized for doing so ... don't get me wrong, I understand that, but if you apologize for something, it implies you knew about it ... if you didn't you have nothing to apologize for. You did not do anything wrong. We need to keep priorities in check. There are things we could not have known.
Concerning R. Kelly people kind of knew - there was even video evidence. Though many dismissed it - many comedians or stand up comedians made fun of it too. Are they guilty? Should they feel shame? Now that is tougher to answer - depending on how the victums themselves view those things. Again there is no definitve answer to that.
I reckon the first mini series is more than enough right now - or rather this would have been good if it was compressed more. The repeated things are a bit much - no pun intended. Overall quite the harrowing experience - just listening to some of the survivors ... this is mad ... and sickening to many degrees.
Many talk about him - and we get an even more intimate look into his backstory. When he grew up and what everything meant to him and his brothers. There is also things that we have seen before and that get re-checked here. Still riveting stuff to say the least ... and quite the harrowing stories (some also new).
There was evidence but there was also a lot of help he obviously got from many people. Now the question is: do you cancel or mute R. Kelly? And what does it mean if you don't? He is quite the big figure in the music industy. Some people he has worked for have apologized for doing so ... don't get me wrong, I understand that, but if you apologize for something, it implies you knew about it ... if you didn't you have nothing to apologize for. You did not do anything wrong. We need to keep priorities in check. There are things we could not have known.
Concerning R. Kelly people kind of knew - there was even video evidence. Though many dismissed it - many comedians or stand up comedians made fun of it too. Are they guilty? Should they feel shame? Now that is tougher to answer - depending on how the victums themselves view those things. Again there is no definitve answer to that.
I reckon the first mini series is more than enough right now - or rather this would have been good if it was compressed more. The repeated things are a bit much - no pun intended. Overall quite the harrowing experience - just listening to some of the survivors ... this is mad ... and sickening to many degrees.
Unwatchable because of the continuous background 'music'
biermani11 January 2020
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