After BuzzFeed released a scathing report claiming controversial R&B singer R. Kelly was the leader of an abusive “cult” who was holding women hostage early Monday morning (July 17), the longtime singer has fired back and denied all accusations. According to a BuzzFeed tweet, Kelly’s lawyer Linda Mensch issued a statement confirming Kelly’s denial of any wrongdoing.
R. Kelly "unequivocally denies" allegations that he is holding several women against their will in a "cult" https://t.co/1vJl9TNAHGpic.twitter.com/5bg4XiStw6
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 17, 2017
“Mr. Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him,” Mensch said. “Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations. Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such accusations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name.”
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BuzzFeed appears to be standing by its initial report and has been tweeting about the incident throughout the day, most recently at 6:20 p.m. on Monday night. In the post, there are several bullet points listing the evidence their sources have collected over the years, including a 31-year-old “den mother” who allegedly “trained” newcomers on how to sexually please Kelly.
These women lived in R. Kelly’s Georgia “guest house” or Chicago studio last summer, sources tell @BuzzFeedNewshttps://t.co/STiAmB47hopic.twitter.com/9egnYA0iwx
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 18, 2017
In BuzzFeed’s initial story, Kelly was accused of housing a half-dozen women who live in properties the singer rents and have to do what he tells them to do, including engaging “in sexual encounters that he records.”
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In 2008, Kelly was acquitted of 14 charges of making child pornography after a videotape emerged allegedly showing him having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
A press conference with the parents of the alleged victims went down earlier, but one of the women, Jocelyn Savage, denies she’s been “brainwashed” or held captive as her parents claim in the video.
“I’m in a happy place,” Savage said in a video obtained by TMZ. “I’m not being brainwashed or anything like that.”
Watch Savage’s statement and the press conference above.
