No mercy. R. Kelly survivors Lisa Van Alle, Kitti Jones and Asante McGee, who shared their stories in the six-part documentary Surviving R. Kelly, hope that the disgraced singer faces the consequences of his alleged behavior after being accused of physical, mental and sexual abuse.
“He’s not a good person. I’ve always said that [he] is the Devil,” McGee exclusively told Us Weekly at Variety’s Power of Women event in New York City presented by Lifetime earlier this month. Jones noted that she wants Kelly, 52, “to be accountable in the court of law because he has broken the law.”
She added: “He has violated people, he has hurt people and there is stuff on tape that you cant deny. I don’t think he’ll ever own up to what he has done, but that’ll certainly help. And get some therapy.”
Kelly was arrested in February on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse and he pleaded not guilty. The “Ignition” singer later addressed the allegations in an interview with Gayle King on March 5 and claimed that the “rumors” against him are “not true.”
McGee told Us that she was “not surprised” by Kelly’s controversial interview and expected him to deny the charges he was facing. However, Van Alle admitted that she “was surprised” he agreed to speak out “because usually your publicist would advise you not to when you’re lying, because you can definitely put yourself in a bad situation. I think a few things that he said were pretty incriminating.”
The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer, who has also been accused of predatory behavior and pedophilia, came under fire in 1994 after marrying late singer Aaliyah when she was only 15. He then faced child pornography charges, but was acquitted in 2008.
Kelly found himself in hot water again in April 2018 after BuzzFeed News reported that he held several women hostage in a cult. He denied the allegations in a 19-minute song, titled “I Admit,” three months later.
“What’s the definition of a cult? What’s the definition of a sex slave? / Go to the dictionary, look it up / Let me know, I’ll wait here,” the lyrics read. “Some like to get branded / And what some of these girls want, is too much for the radio station / Look, I’m just a man, y’all / Not a monster or beast / But I admit there are times when these girls are so fine, they’ll chill with a [n-word] for a week.”
With reporting by Marc Lupo
