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PT | 122 R. Kelly’s recent story

micRadio Apprentice todayJanuary 8, 2023 7

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    PT | 122 R. Kelly's recent story Radio Apprentice


R. Kelly is a former R&B superstar who has been convicted of federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges for a decades-long scheme to recruit women and underage girls for sex. He was found guilty on all nine counts he was facing by a jury in New York after a six-week trial that included graphic testimony from 11 accusers – nine women and two men. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced on May 4, 2022.

R. Kelly’s criminal enterprise involved his managers, security guards and other employees who helped him lure and isolate his victims, control their movements and communication, and blackmail them with nude photos or embarrassing information. He also paid witnesses to not cooperate with the authorities and threatened them with physical harm. He even obtained a fake marriage certificate to wed the singer Aaliyah when she was 15 in 1994.

R. Kelly’s conviction marked a significant moment in the Me Too movement for both Black women and for the music industry, as he had been able to avoid consequences for his behavior for three decades. Experts say that Black women have historically been more likely to have their accusations about sexual misconduct distrusted or ignored by society. Some of R. Kelly’s former collaborators, such as Chance the Rapper, have admitted that they did not value the accusers’ stories because they were Black women.


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