R. Kelly is a free man once again. After being taken into custody on Wednesday (March 6) for unpaid child support, the disgraced R&B star walked out of Cook County Jail on Saturday morning (March 9).
According to CBS News, an unidentified person paid the $161,633 in back child support. Cook County sheriff’s spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said she didn’t know who made the payment.
As he was leaving, Kelly said, “I promise we’re gonna straighten all this out. That’s all I can say right now. I love my fans.”
This is the second time in two weeks Kelly has been behind bars. Last month, he turned himself in to Cook County authorities following a 10-count felony indictment on charges of aggravated sexual abuse. He wasn’t able to come up with the $100,000 he needed to post bail. Consequently, a business owner by the name of Valencia Patrice Love reportedly put up the money.
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During Kelly’s dramatic interview with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King earlier this week, he claimed he only had $350,000 left in his bank account.
“So many people have been stealing my money, people was connected to my account,” he said. “I went by myself for the first time to the Bank of America. Didn’t know what I was doing. Didn’t know what the hell was going on … I was so tired of not knowing where my money was, what my publishing is … a lot of it’s on me.
“I have like $350,000 in the bank and I told her, take that and I wanna start a new account. She said it’s gonna take six to seven days to clear.”
Kelly’s legal woes are far from over. He’ll be expected back in court soon.
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[This article has been updated. The original version was published on March 6, 2019 and can be found below.]
R. Kelly is reportedly heading back to jail — but this time, it has nothing to do with the criminal sexual abuse allegations that landed him behind bars late last month.
According to The Blast, the embattled R&B star was taken into custody for failing to pay child support on Wednesday afternoon (March 6) and is on his way to Cook County Jail. Kelly allegedly owes $161,633 in child support to his ex-wife Andrea Kelly for their three children: Jay, Joann and Robert Kelly Jr.
Kelly was given until Wednesday’s court hearing to pay up or face an arrest warrant. Evidently, he failed to make any payments.
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Valenica Love, the woman who posted Kelly’s $100,000 bond last month, has reportedly been subpoenaed and was present in court to discuss the payment, although her lawyer said she was there for an unrelated case.
Kelly’s arrest comes in the wake of his damning interview with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King. The network aired his emotionally-charged interview on Wednesday morning. Part 2 will air on Thursday (March 7).
Although Kelly’s publicist Darryll Johnson says he came to the hearing prepared to pay $50,000 to $60,000, the judge wanted the full amount. The veteran singer will have to come up with the $161,633 to get out of jail.
