Jerhonda Pace is painfully nervous as she relives a conversation she had with singer R Kelly moments after they performed oral sex on each other. On finding out her age – 16 – she describes how he responded, ‘What is that supposed to mean? Tell everyone you’re 19 and act 21.’
She is one of several women who have come forward to detail sexual and domestic abuse they say they suffered at the hands of the I Believe I Can Fly singer in a new six-part docu-series, Surviving R Kelly, which hit US screens last week. (The first episode saw 1.9 million Americans tune in and social media descend into mayhem.) The series, which arrives on UK screens next month, gives a voice to women who claim that the singer bullied them into threesomes, got them pregnant, held them prisoner and beat them for looking at other men. They claim he asked them to call him ‘Daddy’ and filmed them while having sex.
This isn’t the first time R Kelly has been publicly accused of sexual abuse and child molestation. Allegations about his suspected predatory behaviour have been ongoing for more than 25 years. The film also addresses his controversial relationship with the late singer Aaliyah – she was just 15 when they married in 1994 (legal in America at the time) – his infamous sex tape, allegedly with a 14-year-old girl, and shocking reports, which surfaced last year, alleging the singer, now 51, has several young women held hostage as part of a sex cult. R Kelly has previously denied the allegations.
Despite these allegations, until now, fans and the music world seemed to have turned a blind eye (in fact, streams of R Kelly’s music actually increased when the documentary aired). Last week, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kerry Washington and Chrissy Teigen condemned the singer, as did Cara Delevingne – who lost 50,000 Instagram followers as a result. Still, Hollywood’s Time’s Up community has remained relatively silent, especially when compared to the movement’s reaction to Harvey Weinstein and their outpouring of support for his alleged victims.
The difference? The majority of R Kelly’s accusers are black, while Weinstein is alleged to have mainly targeted white women. The lack of support from feminists towards those who claim to have suffered at the hands of R Kelly illustrates the deep cracks that exist within the movement. Black women have long felt frustrated by how the feminist movement often stays silent on issues that involve women of colour. Black women are also less likely to be seen as victims, because their bodies are often hyper-sexualised from an early age.
But change may finally be coming. Since the documentary aired, police have launched a new criminal investigation into the singer, while Lady Gaga pulled her song with him _Do What U Want (With My Body),_from streaming services. Finally, it seems R Kelly will have to answer to his accusers.
Tobi Oredein is an award-winning journalist and founder of website Black Ballad UK____.