Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
R. Kelly Thinks ‘The Devil’ Is Trying To Destroy His ‘Music Legacy,’ Says Crisis Manager
The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer is not "where he wants to be in life at this present moment,” according to an insider.
R. Kelly is blaming one thing for his current run of legal troubles: the devil.
The 52-year-old singer, born Robert Kelly, was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in February, and has been in and out of courtrooms in the months since, battling everything from child support orders to sexual abuse lawsuits.
Most recently, Faith Rodgers, one of numerous women to have accused Kelly of sexual misconduct, is said to have testified in front of a federal grand jury this week, TMZ reports. While the nature of her alleged testimony is unclear, Rodgers previously filed a lawsuit against Kelly accusing the singer of subjecting her to various types of abuse, which allegedly included the intentional transmission of an STD.
While Rodgers’ lawyer, celeb attorney Gloria Allred, did not confirm or deny to TMZ that Rodgers recently testified in front of a grand jury, the outlet reports that authorities in multiple states are building cases against the singer, accusing him of crimes that include tax evasion, obstruction of justice, and sex trafficking.
In response, Kelly’s crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, told TMZ that Kelly believes that “the devil” is, more or less, out to get him.
“Mr. Kelly feels like the devil is working overtime in effort to try to destroy his musical legacy for selfish, personal enrichment,” Johnson said. “We feel everything will line up right on track when it is all said and done.”
Johnson added that Kelly is not “where he wants to be in life at this present moment.”
“However, every indication shows that he is headed in the direction of a positive outcome,” he continued. “He feels that when you are very focused people try to take you down. He’s very confident that in the end he will be proven innocent.”
In the criminal case against Kelly, prosecutors allege that he victimized one adult woman and three minor girls in incidents going as far back as the 1990s. Kelly has routinely denied all accusations against him, most notoriously during an interview with Gayle King earlier this year, where he claimed that the public was trying to “assassinate” him.
