1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,319 Speaker 1: Please check the show notes for more information. Disgraceland is 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: a production of Double Elvis. The stories about r Kelly 4 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: are insane. He openly groomed teenage victims while on trial 5 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: for child pornography, a trial based on sex tapes that 6 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: were once sold at Tower Records. He wrote a song 7 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: designed to help Michael Jackson turn attention away from his 8 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: own troubling allegations, a song he wrote while he was 9 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: illegally married to a fifteen year old, a marriage that 10 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: would eventually bring about his downfall, but not before R 11 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: Kelly went on a twenty year reign of terror, all 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: conducted in plain sight while he was one of the 13 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: biggest artists in the world. And I know some of 14 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: you don't want to hear me say this, but this 15 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: all happened while R Kelly made great music, wedding playlist music, 16 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: backyard barbecue music, music made for Saturday night bumping grind sessions, 17 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,279 Speaker 1: and Sunday morning church services as well. Very much unlike 18 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: that loop, I played a few at the top of 19 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: the show that wasn't great music. That was a preset 20 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: loop from my melotron called Bad Trip in Zuma MK one, 21 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 22 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: rights to Lollipop by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major. Why 23 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,559 Speaker 1: would I play you that specific slice of auto tune 24 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: double entendre cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was 25 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: the number one song in America on June thirteenth, teen 26 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: thousand and eight, And that was the day R Kelly 27 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: was acquitted by a Chicago jury of fourteen counts of 28 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: child pornography, a decision that enabled another decade plus of 29 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: abuse before the singer was finally brought to justice. On 30 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: this episode, mental and physical abuse, sex tapes, and illegal marriage, 31 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: a reign of terror in the downfall of R and 32 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: B Superstar and super predator R Kelly. I'm Jake Brennan. 33 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: In this his disgrace slat, the singer stood next to 34 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: a huge buffet of Chinese food in the recording studio's lounge, 35 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: nervously rehearsing a greeting for the superstar, who is due 36 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:58,399 Speaker 1: to arrive any minute. The greeting had to be just right. 37 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: The superstar was already an hour late, and who knew 38 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: what kind of mood he would be in when he arrived, 39 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: the wrong greeting could throw off the whole session. Then 40 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: the singer's dream of music stardom would be over, a 41 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,959 Speaker 1: dream that was so close to coming true, because any 42 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: moment now the superstar was going to walk through that door, 43 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: and then he and the singer were going to record 44 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: a song together. Of course, the singer heard the rumors. 45 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: Everyone had claims that the superstar had sexual relations with miners. 46 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: Sure he hadn't been convicted of anything yet, but right now, 47 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: at this moment, his reputation was hanging by a thread. 48 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: The superstar needed a hit. Suddenly, there were footsteps in 49 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: the hallway, and the singer's nerves were vibrating. The studio 50 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: door swung open, revealing nothing. The doorframe was empty, and 51 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: then bounding into the room came not a man, but 52 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: a fully grown chimpanzee. The singer stood frozen as one 53 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty pounds of pure chimp muscle darted forward 54 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: like a lightning bolt. The animal stopped on a dime 55 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: inches in front of the singer and delivered a gigantic hug. 56 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: From the hallway. A high pitched voice called out, Bubbles, 57 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: get back in here. That was the unmistakable voice of 58 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: the superstar Michael Jackson. The singer R Kelly pulled himself 59 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: away from bubbles Michael Jackson's famous pitch Chimpanzee, and then 60 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,280 Speaker 1: offered the King of Pops and Chinese Food in a 61 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: high pitched voice that matched the superstars. In order to 62 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: achieve total connection with Michael Jackson for this song, R 63 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: Kelly opted to his words here quote act real feminine 64 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: like because Michael has a feminine thing going on, unquote, 65 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: and that act included singing the demo version of his 66 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: song in a spot on Michael Jackson impression. A bold 67 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: and bizarre choice set endeared Michael to the younger artist, 68 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: and R. Kelly was nothing if not bold. He was 69 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: bold to split off from the group's MGM in public 70 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: announcement in order to become a solo artist. He was 71 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 1: bold to sub the New jack Swing of public announcements 72 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: album born in the nineties for the sex obsessed slow 73 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 1: Jams of his solo debut record, twelve Play, a bold 74 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,679 Speaker 1: choice that landed him his first number one hit song, 75 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: the Raunchy Bump and Grind Now. Just a few months 76 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: later in nineteen ninety four, in a Chicago Recording Studio, 77 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: none other than Michael Jackson himself was giving the bold 78 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: R Kelly a pat on the back. Michael loved this 79 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: new song, said it was going to change the world, 80 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: and he wanted r. Kelly standing next to him singing 81 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: background vocals. For this auspicious occasion, r Kelly didn't write 82 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: another raunchy slow jam. Instead, he crafted a simple ballad 83 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: with a five note earwhar of a vocal hunk. Admittedly, 84 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: it was a little schmaltzy, but it worked because beneath 85 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 1: that schmaltz lay true pain. R Kelly knew all about pain. 86 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: Growing up poor on Chicago's South Side, young Robert Kelly 87 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: witnessed suffering, even death early he was seven years old. 88 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,480 Speaker 1: After school, he would meet up with a girl and 89 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: it was innocent, just two kids playing in a creek, 90 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: but the other boys threw rocks at him and called 91 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: him a sissy. One day, the girl spoke up and 92 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: told the boys to stop, and they came closer. She 93 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: yelled at them again and told them to leave. One 94 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: of the boys pushed her. She fell into the water 95 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: and hit her head. It was late spring and the 96 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: creek was high. The water was flowing fast. R Kelly 97 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,840 Speaker 1: screamed for help as the current carried her away. Adults 98 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: found her body a few minutes later, but it was 99 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: too late. The girl's dead. Painful memories like these helped 100 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: r Kelly write the song You Are Not Alone. When 101 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: it was released by Michael Jackson, with r Kelly's background 102 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: vocals featured prominently in the mix, it was the first 103 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard 104 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: Hot one hundred sounds crazy, I know, but it's one 105 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: hundred percent true. Go ahead and look it up. More importantly, 106 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: for Michael Jackson, the song's unprecedented success helped to push 107 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: the allegations against him into the rear view mirror, and 108 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: for r Kelly, the song gave him a playbook to 109 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: use for his own controversy, because Michael Jackson wasn't the 110 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: only one who had image problems. In nineteen ninety four, 111 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: rumors were already swirling about r Kelly's involvement with an 112 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,679 Speaker 1: underage girl, specifically the budding R and B singer Aaliyah. 113 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: Rather than avoid the rumors, r Kelly played into them 114 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: by writing and producing Elia's debut album, an album titled 115 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: Age Ain't nothing but a number, which is all the 116 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: more gross when you learned that she was only fourteen 117 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: at the time. In interviews, the pair addressed alike and 118 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: call each other best friends with a wink and nod. 119 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: He instructed her to be coy about her age. His 120 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: team spread rumors that she was older than she said. 121 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: He waited until she turned fifteen before he married her 122 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: in secret, but just a few weeks after the recording 123 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: session with Michael Jackson, the secret was out. Vibe magazine 124 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: published r Kelly and Aliah's marriage certificate. In that certificate, 125 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: Alia's age was listed as eighteen, three years older than 126 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: she actually was. Radio DJs cracked jokes about r Kelly 127 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: robbing the cradle, critics scolded him, but for the most part, 128 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: people just shrugged that girl. They said she seemed fifteen 129 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: to you. Alia's parents were frantic to get her away 130 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: from r Kelly. They had the marriage annulled, and they 131 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: threatened to sue Jive Records that they didn't release Aliah 132 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: from her contract. On her next album, she worked with 133 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: Missy Elliott and Timberland instead of R Kelly, but she 134 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: refused to comment on their relationship, just like Tiffany Hawkins, 135 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: who would in nineteen ninety six sue Urkie Kelly for 136 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: emotional distress and injury inflicted during a three year relationship, 137 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: a relationship that began, she claimed when she was also 138 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: just fifteen. But r Kelly's lawyers were cutthroat. They got 139 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: Tiffany Hawkins to drop her lawsuit in exchange for a payout, 140 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: and they got her John Hancock on a non disclosure agreement, 141 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: which meant that the details of her claims never went 142 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: to court and never made it to the press. Lawyers, 143 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: label reps, and PR agents may have helped push back 144 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: against the controversy, but r Kelly had a strategy of 145 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: his own, a strategy that he'd seen work firsthand for 146 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: his buddy Michael Jackson. All r Kelly needed was a 147 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: simple ballad with a soulful hook. It didn't matter that 148 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: the song should have been a throwaway, after all, it 149 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: was written for a movie about another Michael Michael Jordan 150 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: playing basketball with a bunch of Looney Tunes cartoon characters. 151 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: But the instant he finished recording the song I Believe 152 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: I Can Fly for the Space Jam soundtrack, r Kelly 153 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: knew he had a smash and that song made R 154 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: Kelly a household name, not as a sexed up R 155 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: and B superstar, but as a soulful ballad singer. I 156 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: Believe I Can Fly became a staple of church services 157 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: and graduation ceremonies. It earned R Kelly the type of 158 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: goodwill and positive press that would last most people a lifetime, 159 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: the kind of good will that would be almost impossible 160 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: to squander. Almost She looked back one more time to 161 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: make sure no one was following her. The hallway was empty, 162 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: mostly up ahead. A lone security guard stood by the 163 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: backstage door. She gave what she hoped was a casual 164 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: nod as she walked on by and stepped outside into 165 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: the cool night air. She looked at her watch. She 166 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: had ten minutes to make the grab and get back 167 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: inside without being seen. It was just another day on 168 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: tour with R Kelly, a day filled with rules. Rules 169 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: about what she could call R Kelly Daddy, rules about 170 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,079 Speaker 1: when she could eat only when he gave her permission, 171 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: maybe today or maybe tomorrow. And rules about who she 172 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: could fuck anyone he told her to. Rules that controlled 173 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,200 Speaker 1: every minute of her day except for a small window 174 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: of time deep in the second half of r Kelly's set, 175 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,959 Speaker 1: because right now r Kelly was on stage, working his 176 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: ass off in front of a packed arena, as were 177 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: his band and his dancers. The groupies. Meanwhile, groupies like 178 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 1: this one here were backstage in the green room. The 179 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: entourage was already prepping for the after party. The bus 180 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,680 Speaker 1: driver was still at the hotel, and for the next 181 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:05,839 Speaker 1: ten minutes, absolutely no one was on the tour bus. 182 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 1: She put her plan into action, a quick walk across 183 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: the parking lot to the huge bus park behind the arena. 184 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 1: The driver forgot to lock it up again. She slipped 185 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: inside and checked her watch again. Eight minutes She moved 186 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: quickly down the aisle, passing empty bottles of crystal cocaine residue, 187 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: dozens of blunts stubbed out in ash trays. She passed 188 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: by ten or so bunks that led up to the 189 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: largest berth in the back of the bus, the King Suite, 190 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: r Kelly's home away from home in the tight confines 191 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: of touring life. Even for a superstar like r Kelly, 192 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,440 Speaker 1: it wasn't much, just a bed, a chair, and a television, 193 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,679 Speaker 1: a television where r Kelly liked to watch movies. Sometimes 194 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: he leaves the door open so others could file in 195 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: and out, watching advanced copies of movies like Will Smith's 196 00:12:55,559 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: latest Ali, which featured R. Kelly's song The World's Greatest Soundtrack. 197 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: But do you watch other movies too, these ones with 198 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: the door closed? Never with the dancers or with the groupies, 199 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,959 Speaker 1: and rarely with the band, only with a few select 200 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: guys from his crew. Videos of R Kelly proving that 201 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: young women would do anything to sleep with him, that's 202 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: what really got him excited. The filmmate and rewatching, reveling 203 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: in that feeling of total control, the kind of control 204 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: his stepsister had growing up. She used to watch the 205 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: younger kids when his mom worked late. She could be 206 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: so mean. She knew how to inflict pain. Some nights, 207 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,319 Speaker 1: she would take them into a dark room and make 208 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: them do things, things that he knew were wrong. Now, 209 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: as an adult, he was the one in control. He 210 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: was the one inflicting pain, forcing young naive girls to 211 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: do things in dark rooms that they knew were wrong. 212 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,680 Speaker 1: He liked to test the guys in his inner circle 213 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 1: by showing them clips of older girls first nineteen twenty 214 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: years old. If they liked those, he'd play them the 215 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: tapes with the younger girl girls, and then even younger 216 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:04,719 Speaker 1: until it wasn't a question of whether the girls were 217 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: in high school. Guys started praying that the video they 218 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: were watching didn't involve girls that were in middle school. 219 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: That's the kind of video she was looking for. Now. 220 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:16,959 Speaker 1: She knew it was a risk. If she got caught, 221 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: her punishment would be severe. She could be spit on, slapped, choked, even, 222 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: But she had to get that tape, a tape that 223 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: showed her having sex with a younger girl, a girl 224 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: who was barely out of eighth grade, a girl she 225 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 1: now knew was R. Kelly's fourteen year old goddaughter. For 226 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: God's sake, she shuddered just thinking about it. As she 227 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: scanned the small bedroom, she saw what she was looking for, 228 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: a ratty gray gym bag peeking out from under the bed. 229 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: Everyone on tour knew that R. Kelly kept that bag 230 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: with him at all times, all except for the hour 231 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: he spent playing basketball every day, and for the ninety 232 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: minutes that he spent on stage. She checked her watch again. 233 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 1: Less than five minutes now, she unzipped the gray bag. 234 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: Dozens of tapes fell out onto the bed. She began 235 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: plugging them into the machine one by one until eventually 236 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: she found the one she was looking for. Quickly, she 237 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: ejected the MicroTape from the machine and stuffed it into 238 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: her purse. She knew the bus driver would be arriving 239 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: any minute now. She bolted down the aisle and out 240 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: the door. She crossed the parking lot and knocked on 241 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: the back stage door. Inside, the security guard opened up. 242 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: She flashed them her backstage pass and he led her in. 243 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: She looked back, and as the door was closing, she 244 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: saw the bus driver just back from the hotel, stepping 245 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: onto the bus. She'd made it, and no one was 246 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: the wiser. But her night wasn't over. She still had 247 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: to get to the fourth Row Center aisle. The concert 248 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: was building toward its climax. The crowd was roaring, and 249 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: for the second to last song of the night, R. 250 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: Kelly always liked to bring it down for a minute. 251 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: He would look into the crowd with his soulful brown 252 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: eyes and start talking about the type of girl he 253 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: was looking for. She could be out there tonight, and 254 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: then he would step into the crowd and find her. 255 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: Her job was to be ready for that moment when 256 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: he came down into the crowd when he looked into 257 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: her eyes. She hated that moment, the entire arena holding 258 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: their collective breadth. As he held the mic to her lips, 259 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: every horrible thing he had done to her over the 260 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: last two years flashing through her mind, and then she 261 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: would speak her line on cue I Love You, Mark Kelly. 262 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: He pulled her onto the stage and asked what her 263 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: favorite song was. She did what she was supposed to do, 264 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: leaned into the mic with a sultry whisper, and said, 265 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: bump and grind. Then she and R Kelly engaged in 266 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: some serious bumping and grinding of their own while the 267 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: band vamped on the song's intro. It never failed to 268 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: send a room into a frenzy. By two thousand and one, 269 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: tapes like the one this particular group he hunted down 270 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: were slipping out of Our Kelly's gray gym bag on 271 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: the regular. Too many people knew about them, too many 272 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 1: people saw them, and it was only a matter of 273 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: time before they started showing up in other places. And 274 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,199 Speaker 1: soon they did. R kelly sex tapes were selling on 275 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: street corners and at bootleg stands in Chicago. Even Tower 276 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: Records got in on the act with a DVD that 277 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: sold for fourteen dollars and ninety five cents called r 278 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 1: Kelly Bump and Grind You be the Judge. Eventually, a 279 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,360 Speaker 1: tape was delivered anonymously to the Chicago Sun Times, who 280 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: handed it over to the police. On February eight, two 281 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: thousand and two. The Sun Times reported on the contents 282 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:40,400 Speaker 1: of that videotape. Later that same day, r Kelly saying 283 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: I Believe I Can fly at the opening ceremony of 284 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. But headlining the 285 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: Olympics wasn't enough to make the controversy go away. A 286 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: few months later, r Kelly was arrested in Chicago on 287 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: twenty one counts of child pornography. While serving a search 288 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: warrant on his vacation home in Miami, police uncovered a 289 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,679 Speaker 1: digital camera with more images of r Kelly engaged in 290 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,440 Speaker 1: sex with minors. He now faced additional accounts of child 291 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 1: pornography in Florida. R Kelly's image was in tatters. Newscasters 292 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: shredded him. He was a punchline for diseased. I'm sorry. 293 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: Dave Chappelle and every other comedian on the circuit still 294 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:27,640 Speaker 1: r Kelly's record label, Jive, stood by him. As long 295 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: as his music sold, they would protect him. He had 296 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: a team of high powered lawyers and crisis managers to 297 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: help make sure that happened. But with these new allegations, 298 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: these new revelations, the question everyone was asking was would 299 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: fans keep buying what R kelly was selling? And I 300 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 1: don't just mean the music, I mean the lie. We'll 301 00:18:52,520 --> 00:19:04,199 Speaker 1: be right back after this word, word word. R Kelly 302 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,440 Speaker 1: prowled the lip of the stage like a panther. He 303 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:09,879 Speaker 1: held out his microphone to the crowd as they sang 304 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 1: along to his mega hit Ignition. Even here in New York, 305 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: they couldn't help but bounce to this one. Madison Square 306 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: Garden may have been Jay Z's home turf, but right 307 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: now R Kelly was holding up his end of their 308 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 1: Best of Both Worlds tour. Two thousand and four, two 309 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: years since r Kelly's arrest for those twenty one counts 310 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: of child pornography, and he was still a free man. 311 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,160 Speaker 1: In fact, his trial hadn't even started yet, and though 312 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,159 Speaker 1: his reputation took a hit, his money was doing all 313 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: the talking. His album Chocolate Factory, released the year prior 314 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: had sold over three million copies, and now he was 315 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: on stage with the biggest name in hip hop. The 316 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,439 Speaker 1: best of both worlds. Tour was a concert promoter's wet dream, 317 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,159 Speaker 1: R and B and hip hop reigning kings together for 318 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: the first time. The accountants forecast a million dollars in 319 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: revenue per show. Of course, that revenue was zero when 320 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: a show got canceled, like the one a few weeks 321 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,919 Speaker 1: prior in Connecticut, r Kelly blamed the lighting guy for 322 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: a lackluster crowd response the night before, fired him on 323 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,479 Speaker 1: the spot. By the time they found a replacement, the 324 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 1: Hartford show was already canned. Losses piled up with the 325 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: shows were delayed too. Like the second night of the 326 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: tour in Chicago, r Kelly sat on the bus for 327 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: two and a half hours past the show's start time 328 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: while everyone else, including jay Z, waited and waited. It 329 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,199 Speaker 1: caused the stage crew to hit overtime, taking a hefty 330 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,360 Speaker 1: bite out of the gross So while r Kelly took 331 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: the Madison Square Garden stage on time for once, a 332 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: group of label reps, promoters, and agents watched nervously from 333 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: the luxury boxes. There were seventeen stops left on this 334 00:20:57,119 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 1: double bill, they could pull off a great night here tonight. 335 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: It was still time to put this tour back in 336 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,400 Speaker 1: the black on paper. The knife should have been great. 337 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: Jay Z and R Kelly performing songs from their new 338 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: collaborative album, Unfinished Business, stars like Usher and Mary J. 339 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: Blige singing along from the front row. R Kelly gazed 340 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: out into the crowd, bodies rolling, heads nodding, but a 341 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: few faces just stood there staring hard back at him. 342 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: He locked eyes with one of them, a man in 343 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: a long black coat. Suddenly, the man reached down, pulled 344 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: open the coat, and pointed down to his waist. What 345 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: was that, Wait, was that a gun? R Kelly panicked. 346 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: He turned back to the left and looked up into 347 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 1: the rafters, and there was another man wearing the same 348 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: black coat, making the same motion. R Kelly lost it. 349 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: He made a bee line for backstage, and from backstage 350 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: he listened as the crowd kept going crazy for j. 351 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: But he couldn't stop thinking about those men in the 352 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 1: long black coats, about being in some crazy person's crosshairs. 353 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: Fuck this, Fuck New York. He was out of here. 354 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: The stage lights were cut, Madison Square Garden plunged into darkness. 355 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: A few minutes passed, and then the lights came back on, bright, blinding, 356 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: illuminating security guards now rushing the floor. They made their 357 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 1: way to the spots where r Kelly said he saw 358 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 1: the men in long black coats. The guards pawed their 359 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: way through the throng and they were thorough. They found 360 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: no long black coats, no weapons, nothing. The show was stopped, 361 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: but jay Z was determined not to let the show 362 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: go to shit here in his hometown with famous friends 363 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: in the crowd, no less, He sent members of his 364 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: crew to bring those friends backstage. He was going to 365 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 1: do the unthinkable, put together a sixty minute set of 366 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: unrehearsed material on the fly in front of a packed arena. 367 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: R Kelly, though, had other plans. He had already made 368 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: his position clear. He was done, but the promoters repleating 369 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: with him to go back out there to finish the night. 370 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 1: The coast was clear, the crowd was ready. R Kelly 371 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: looked out to the stage to jay Z standing there 372 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 1: with Mary and Usher in the wings. He realized that 373 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: he couldn't miss out on this. The moment would be 374 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:18,959 Speaker 1: too special. He relented. He was in That's when one 375 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: of Jay's crew stepped forward. The dude blocked r Kelly's path. 376 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: He told r Kelly there was no way he was 377 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: going back out on that stage. R Kelly tried to 378 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: push the guy out of the way, but the dude 379 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:31,920 Speaker 1: was too big. The dude raised his arm and unloaded 380 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: a can of pepper spray directly into r Kelly's face. 381 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,639 Speaker 1: R and b's biggest superstar dropped to his knees and 382 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: then fell over, coughing his eyes, burning his throat on fire. 383 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 1: R Kelly finished the night in the hospital while jay 384 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 1: Z finished the show, and then r Kelly was finished period, 385 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: kicked off the tour, and banned from Madison Square Garden. 386 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: Up until this point, the cloud of r Kelly's long 387 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: delayed child pornography trial have been easy to overlook. As 388 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,200 Speaker 1: long as he could still sell concert tickets, the suits 389 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: weren't worried. But if he couldn't be trusted to get 390 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: on stage anymore and stay on stage, maybe it was 391 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: time to cut ties with r Kelly, especially if he 392 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: was found guilty. At least that's what people were saying now, 393 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 1: which seemed extremely likely. When r Kelly's trial finally started 394 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: in the summer, of two thousand and eight, and I 395 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,639 Speaker 1: got to emphasize this fact. It took six years for 396 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: this trial to begin. Six years between when he was 397 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: first arrested for child pornography in two thousand and two 398 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: and the day his trial got underway in two thousand 399 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:40,000 Speaker 1: and eight. Six long years during which r Kelly kept 400 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 1: doing what r Kelly did, physically, mentally and sexually abusing 401 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: young victims, which is fucking nuts when you think about it. 402 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 1: At the center of the trial was one of those videos. 403 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: More than a dozen witnesses identified the girl on the 404 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: tape as fourteen years old at the time, but the 405 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 1: girl refused to take this stand, and the judge banned 406 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: the prosecution from discussing any of the other allegations against 407 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: r Kelly, and his legal team threw everything against the wall. 408 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,919 Speaker 1: The tape was edited. They said it wasn't r Kelly, 409 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: They said it was his brother. They said that girl 410 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: on the screen, she wasn't the same girl that was 411 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: here in court. They said anything to stir up a 412 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: hint of reasonable doubt, just as doubt was being stirred 413 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,199 Speaker 1: up on the streets outside the courtroom, dozens of fans, 414 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:28,880 Speaker 1: many of them young women, began showing up every day 415 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: to voice their support. R Kelly made a point to 416 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: talk to one of them, a high school freshman by 417 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,479 Speaker 1: the way, as he headed into the courtroom, he stopped 418 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: to hug her on the courthouse steps in front of 419 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 1: press photographer's, news cameras, everyone, and then he slipped her 420 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: his number and told her to call him after the trial. 421 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: This fucking guy R Kelly knew he could get away 422 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:50,679 Speaker 1: with it, just as he'd been getting away with it 423 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 1: since the day he'd been arrested some six years prior. 424 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: People just loved him too much. His music was part 425 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: of their lives. He knew no jury of I Believe 426 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: I Can Fly Lovers would ever convict him, and he 427 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: was right. After seven hours of deliberation, the jury came 428 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: back with a verdict of not guilty on all counts. 429 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: With that verdict, r Kelly was given his freedom, and 430 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: America gave him a clean slate, a chance to resume 431 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,919 Speaker 1: his life as a superstar. But R Kelly wasn't just 432 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: a superstar. He was bulletproof. He reached out to that 433 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,479 Speaker 1: high school freshmen he met on the courtroom steps, and 434 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: he started working on his next victim. Because as long 435 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: as he was a freeman. R Kelly was never going 436 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 1: to stop ever. Daddy, the girl eighteen nineteen years old, 437 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,640 Speaker 1: wiped away tears and cleared her throat. She didn't want 438 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: her father to know she was crying. Daddy, is everything 439 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:11,159 Speaker 1: all right? Her father's voice on the other end of 440 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 1: the phone had a touch of sadness, but he said 441 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,120 Speaker 1: all he wanted was to make sure she got home safely. 442 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: He shouldn't even be calling her in the first place. 443 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 1: He shouldn't be calling anyone because he was using a 444 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: smuggled phone. Locked up in federal prison twenty twenty two, 445 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: she'd visited her father for the first time, just a 446 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: few hours prior that long trip from Jersey to Brooklyn 447 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,640 Speaker 1: the drab, depressing visiting room. It was painful to see 448 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,720 Speaker 1: him this way. The only bright spot, if he could 449 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: call it, that, was that she got to see a 450 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:46,439 Speaker 1: celebrity in the visiting room. R Kelly, one of her 451 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 1: favorite singers in the world, locked up awaiting sentencing, someone 452 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: was visiting him his daughter. Maybe she hoped it was 453 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: his daughter, at least she watched as they talked, he 454 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 1: smiled easily and laughed. Her dad noticed that she was 455 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: looking over at him. Ah is actually a really nice guy, 456 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 1: he told her. He just has a type, is all now. 457 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: A few hours later, her dad, on the other end 458 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,160 Speaker 1: of a smuggled phone, said someone was with him who 459 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,400 Speaker 1: wanted to say hi. She heard the phone shuffle over 460 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,200 Speaker 1: to another set of hands, and then she heard the 461 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: voice of r. Kelly. He said hello, He turned on 462 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:27,400 Speaker 1: the charm. In his smooth baritone, he sang a few 463 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 1: bars of a deep cut called love Letter. Even in 464 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: his fifties, his voice still sounded incredible. But it was 465 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 1: all a ruse, a siren song, lurring yet another young prey. 466 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 1: For almost fifteen years after his not guilty verdict in 467 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,240 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, R Kelly continued collecting dozens of 468 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: young teenage victims. Let me say that again. For the 469 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: cheap seats young teenage victims. He held them in near slavery. 470 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: He refused to let them eat for days at a time. 471 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: He made them urinate in small cups. He took their 472 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: cell phones and cut them off from their friends and family. 473 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: He beat them for any minor infraction of his rules. 474 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:16,680 Speaker 1: Those beatings included spanking, slaps, punches. According to the sentencing 475 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: memorandums submitted by the US Department of Justice. He choked 476 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: one victim until she passed out, and he made others 477 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: eat feces on camera. And then there was all the 478 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 1: sexual abuse, the exploitation, the assault. The word sex or 479 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: sexual shows up over two hundred times in that thirty 480 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: one page sentencing memorandum. But before all the dark details 481 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: were revealed in that official memo, a blockbuster report in 482 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: the twenty seventeen BuzzFeed article described in great detail the 483 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: so called pied Piper of R and B's cult. In 484 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, The Washington Post published an article which alleged 485 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: wilful ignorance at the hands of Jive Records executors that 486 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 1: many a blind eye was turned in order to make 487 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: a buck Now. Reporting was followed up by the SCATH 488 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen television specials Surviving R. Kelly. Unbelievably, none 489 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 1: of these articles or television specials, none of these damning, 490 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 1: disgusting revelations, none of these things brought R. Kelly down, 491 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: at least not at first. Instead, it was the long 492 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 1: forgotten marriage license from back in nineteen ninety four. For years, 493 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 1: people wondered how R. Kelly had been able to marry 494 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 1: a Leah when she was only fifteen years old. How 495 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: he'd been able to change her name on an official 496 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:37,760 Speaker 1: document to claim she was eighteen. Now decades later, prosecutors 497 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,720 Speaker 1: finally had the answer. R Kelly had paid off a 498 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: state employee for a fake ID. This key piece of 499 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: evidence helped convict r Kelly on charges of racketeering and 500 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:51,880 Speaker 1: sex trafficking. Next, Chicago prosecutors hit him with additional child 501 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 1: pornography charges. Double jeopardy protected him from being charged again 502 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: for the same crime. But luckily for the prosecution, r 503 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:03,240 Speaker 1: Kelly had created did hundreds of tapes new tape new crime. 504 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: After refusing to testify in two thousand and eight, his 505 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: victim from the original lawsuit agreed to take the stand, 506 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 1: but with her testimony, r Kelly was at long last 507 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 1: found guilty. In twenty twenty two. After the verdict, that 508 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: victim shared a statement with the press that read, I 509 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,480 Speaker 1: have lost my dignity due to Robert Kelly. I have 510 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 1: lost my dreams due to Robert Kelly. I have lost 511 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: my teenage years due to Robert Kelly, and no amount 512 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: of therapy will make me okay. R Kelly was sentenced 513 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: to thirty years. He is currently serving his time in 514 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: Butner Federal Prison in North Carolina. He won't be eligible 515 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: for release until twenty forty five at the earliest. By 516 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: then he'll be seventy eight years old. In the meantime, 517 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: R Kelly's music plays on at backyard barbecues and graduations, 518 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,120 Speaker 1: during late Saturday night bump and grind sessions in Sunday 519 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: morning church services. R Kelly still has fans. He's still 520 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 1: connecting with young women even from behind bars, still charming 521 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: them with his soulful brown eyes and his smooth voice. 522 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,479 Speaker 1: And maybe you can separate the art from the artist. 523 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: Maybe you're capable of seeing only R. Kelly the sexy 524 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: R and B star or R Kelly the vulnerable and 525 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 1: soulful balladeer. But Robert Kelly used that sexy, soulful image 526 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: to lure young girls, to trap them in his world, 527 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: to subject them to unthinkable torture and pain, pain that 528 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: lives on as long as his music rings out. And 529 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 1: that is the real disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan in This 530 00:32:47,520 --> 00:33:10,800 Speaker 1: is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is 531 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:14,520 Speaker 1: produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode 532 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,320 Speaker 1: can be found on the show notes page at disgracelampod 533 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 1: dot com. If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, 534 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,320 Speaker 1: thank you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it. Then. 535 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 1: If not, you can become a member right now by 536 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: going to disgracelampod dot com slash Membership. 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