R&B singer R. Kelly has preyed on teenage girls for the past 25 years. It’s time our society stops his cycle of abuse. Join us in telling Sony to #DropRKelly for habitually preying on teenage girls for the past 25 years!
In 1994, R. Kelly illegally married 15-year-old Aaliyah, and in 2002, he was indicted on 14 counts of child pornography. He was acquitted six years later because neither the alleged victim nor her parents were willing to testify, but more than 40 others took the stand to confirm that the girl in the video was the 14-year-old girl.
Recently, disturbing reports have surfaced from parents and former entourage members who allege R. Kelly is holding multiple women in a sex cult in which he controls their every move, physically and emotionally punishes them if they break his rules, and films his sexual encounters with them to share with his friends.
Despite all of this information being on the public record, Kelly continues to tour, release albums, collaborate with artists like Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga, and be honored at events like BET’s Soul Train Awards. R. Kelly should not profit while he continues to victimize women.
The parents of Jocelyn Savage, 21, say she “is being held against her will” in R. Kelly’s “cult” and that they haven’t seen their daughter since Dec. 2016. And three former members of Kelly’s inner circle — Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee — say six women live in Kelly’s rented properties in Chicago and the Atlanta suburbs, where he controls their entire lives: dictating what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, how they use their cell phones, and how they engage in sexual encounters that he records.
R. Kelly often pays out his victims before they file charges. A Chicago attorney told BuzzFeed she has negotiated “numerous” settlements, including a recent one involving a 17-year-old aspiring singer.
Care2 members have routinely spoken out loudly to stop serial sexual predators to whom society has given a pass, including Bill O’Reilly, Bill Cosby, and Dr. Luke. It’s time to speak out just as loudly against R. Kelly.
We must not let habitual abusers float above justice simply because they are rich and famous. Let’s work together to turn R. Kelly into a symbol for victim’s rights, reminding abusers everywhere that no one is untouchable. Join us in telling Sony to #DropRKelly for habitually preying on teenage girls for the past 25 years!
