The Top Five Shocking Takeaways From Lifetime’s ‘Surviving R Kelly’ Docu-Series
As the Inquisitr previously reported, Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly drew in almost two million viewers. Those who tuned in to watch the six part docu-series saw a program which showcased the ongoing sexual abuse allegations — mostly with underage girls — which Kelly continues to face today. The series caused an explosion on social media, and Kelly has now fired back at Lifetime, threatening to sue the channel over what he claims are false accusations. He has even gone so far as to create a separate Facebook page, where he apparently plans to call out his accusers one-by-one.
Here are the top five shocking takeaways from the docu-series, one which wrapped up on January 5.
1. R. Kelly claimed he was abused as a young child, and that may have set forth a pattern of sexual abuse by his own hand.
Several clinical psychologists who were interviewed for the series revealed that children who experience sexual trauma in their youth have a pattern of becoming abusers themselves, which they view as taking back the power they were once stripped of. In his 2012 memoir, Soulcaster: A Diary Of Me, Kelly opened up about the sexual abuse he faced from a female member of his family when he was just 13.
“Child sexual abuse confuses power and control with sex, so children may want to say, ‘I want to be the one that’s in that power position,’” Dr. Candice Norcott said in the series, as Vulture reported.
2. R. Kelly set up several bedrooms in his homes and in his studio for the purpose of keeping his victims at the ready for his sexual conquests.
According to claims by the docu-series in question, within R. Kelly’s Chicago music studio and home, several rooms were set up with the purpose of keeping women locked in — to be subject to later sexual conquests. An unidentified witness, who was a former employee of Kelly’s, used a disguised voice and a darkened silhouette while they revealed that the women under Kelly’s thumb were subjected to horrifying abuse by the singer — and weren’t allowed to speak to each other, or anyone else.
One of the survivors said that while she was living under Kelly, she wasn’t even allowed to brush her teeth without his permission. The young women were instructed to refer to Kelly as “Daddy,” and if they were caught speaking to another person without Kelly’s permission, he would physically abuse them.
One of the interviewees claimed that when visiting the studio, he saw several girls in darkened rooms — waiting for Kelly to come in and have his way with them. He further alleged that some of these girls looked as if they were young enough to be in high school.
3. The documents stating that singer Aaliyah was of age to marry Kelly were forged by Kelly’s tour manager, Demetrius Smith.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, Kelly’s former tour manager — Demetrius Smith — alleged that after Kelly told Smith that an underage Aaliyah was pregnant, Smith forged the documents stating that the singer was of legal age to wed. The two were married shortly thereafter. Just 15-years-old at the time, Aaliyah wed R. Kelly in a small ceremony that took place at a hotel in Illinois. The two wore casual clothes to the ceremony.
“I’m not proud of that – I had papers forged for them because Aaliyah was underage. [We] got the marriage license and we were in a hotel in Maywood, Illinois,” said Smith, who followed up his comments by saying that he felt as though he had failed both of them.
4. R. Kelly picked one of his victims to be his “boy toy.”
One former employee of Kelly’s — who chose to remain anonymous — said that on top of all of the allegations of sexual abuse against the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer, he also chose one of his victims to play the role of his “boy toy.” A young woman named Dominique was instructed to dress as, and act as, a young man in order to fulfill a fantasy of Kelly’s.
“To Robert, Dominique is, like, the rebellious one. She stays in trouble to him. She’s a little tomboyish, and Robert plays on that. So he has molded her into the boy he wants her to be. So he’s had her shave all her hair off, and she carries herself like a boy. He’s even had her dress in boy clothes and paint a beard and mustache on to look like a boy. So he treats her like his boy toy,” the employee revealed.
5. Kelly’s abuse has not halted, and survivors allege that the sexual misconduct continues to this day.
Adding to the claims that R. Kelly is running a sex cult in which he entraps young women, forcing them to stay in his grasp, is a claim made in the last episode of the series — that Kelly is still keeping these young girls under lock and key. This claim comes even with an imminent legal battle ensuing, and the public release of the docu-series. Several parents of his alleged victims were interviewed, and one mother revealed that she had to get the police involved in a rescue attempt from a hotel room.
Another father of one of Kelly’s alleged victims claimed that he hasn’t spoken to his daughter in over two years. Yet another concerned parent stated that they haven’t seen their child since her 2016 high school graduation. R. Kelly’s anonymous former employee said that the media attention surrounding Joycelyn Savage, one of Kelly’s victims — whose parents have been desperately trying to get back — said that Kelly held meetings with his team to get Joycelyn in front of the cameras. This might give the illusion that she was not being held against her will.
“The first thing was to put Joycelyn in front of the camera on TMZ, which is something he ordinarily would not have done… As far as the video Joycelyn Savage made, I would say that it was scripted, because Robert does not allow those girls to say anything that he has not told them to say,” the employee asserted.
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