Charlese Freeman

Student-Life Editor

Perhaps Robert Kelly, the “Pied Piper” of R&B has done too much bumping and grinding in his life.

It’s no secret that some are not fond of R. Kelly. 

Many allegations such as child pornography, sexual assault, pedophilia, domestic abuse and even speculations of a sexual cult have resurfaced once again.

Even after years of speculations, Kelly’s fans (majority women) cannot resist his infectious music.

Many were unaware of how much controversy Kelly truly sparked until Jan. 3 when Lifetime released a mini-series called “Surviving R. Kelly.”

The series sheds light on Kelly’s R&B’s love life. The Lifetime series painted a monstrous picture of the R&B singer.

So, what do students think of R. Kelly and his allegations?

“I don’t think of R. Kelly. He’s nasty as hell. He belongs in jail. I guess it’s not entirely his fault. His sister belongs in jail as well,” said Gertrude Kibagendi.

Carey Kelly, Kelly’s younger brother, admitted in an interview on the series that both he and R. Kelly were molested by their oldest sister, Theresa Kelly when she was 16 years old and Carey Kelly and R. Kelly were respectively 6 and 10 years old.

Some of Kelly’s alleged victims include Azriel Clary, who met Kelly when she was 17 only years old, Joycelyn Savage, a possible cult victim, and Asante McGee.

The series talks about Kelly being spotted loitering around high schools, which is not unexpected for someone being called a pedophile and accused of multiple accounts of sexual assault.    

At some point on the show, Kelly was asked if he liked teenage girls.

He responded with a shocking and unwise comment “What do you mean by teenage?”

Assuming the word “teenager” had a double meaning, Kelly dug himself in a deeper hole, with this foolish and rather arrogant answer.

Many are well aware of Kelly’s relationship with, late R&B singer, Aaliyah. Kelly married the singer when she was only 15 years old.

Kelly claims that he did not know Aaliyah’s age at the time of the wedding, but many disagree, stating that Kelly had full knowledge of her age.   

In all honesty, after multiple accounts from Kelly’s alleged victims, what is the likelihood that each and every woman is lying?

Hollywood and those who dwell there can be dangerous to outsiders.

R. Kelly, nor his victims are no exception.

Most people side with the women in the series, but unfortunately, even a heartbreaking story of mental, sexual and physical abuse won’t stop people from rocking out R. Kelly.

For the time being, it would be good for Kelly to keep to himself, away from women and teenage girls.    

Email Charlese at:

cfreeman2@live.esu.edu