Infamous R&B star R Kelly has left the Chicago jail where he was being held after posting his $100,000 bail, according to a Cook County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
The singer has been plagued by allegations of sexual assault, rape, child abuse, child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse for decades.
Yesterday, the 52-year-old pleaded not guilty to 10 charges against four women, three of whom were minors at the time of alleged assault. He did not speak to media as he was escorted from jail by his lawyer.
The Ignition singer turned himself in to police on Friday and spent the weekend in a jail cell after denying all allegations against him over the last 30 years.
He has faced claims of sexual abuse for a long time, even appearing on trial in 2008 for child pornography charges but was acquitted.
Cook County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari confirmed on Monday night that R Kelly had raised the $100,000 bail, which was 10 percent of the $1 million bond set by a judge.
It is suspected that he struggled to raise the $100,000 necessary, and that a female "friend" had to assist him.
His court appearance and plea has arrived only weeks after Surviving R Kelly aired on Lifetime; an explosive documentary series about the allegations of continuous assault from dozens of women, including his former wife.
He is currently being tried for sexual assaults which apparently happened from 1998 onwards. He met one of the four women on her 16th birthday at a restaurant, and another 16-year-old when she asked for his autograph.
Robert Sylvester Kelly was ordered by the court to hand in his passport, and to have zero contact with anyone under the age of 18. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 22.
The well known high-profile women's rights attorney Gloria Allred claimed in a news conference yesterday that she is now representing over six women who allege that the singer abused them.
Warning: this article may be upsetting for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, assault or harassment.
In case you've missed the drama surrounding R Kelly following the release of a six-hour length Lifetime documentary regarding his sexual predation, the explosive TV episodes have one again brought the dangerous rapper to light.
Horrifying allegations have been made against singer R Kelly for three decades, including an upsetting trial involving 21 counts of child pornography.
The six-part documentary made by Dream Hampton, Surviving R Kelly, retraced reports of the R&B artist's consistent manipulation and abuse of underage girls and sexual misconduct going back 30 years, for which he has never faced any consequences.
Lady Gaga is now being sufficiently ROASTED for declining to appear in the documentary, despite having collaborated with him back in 2013 on the (ironic) track Do What U Want.
Twitter users are calling her out on her debated hypocrisy, as she plays a large role in the #MeToo movement and declared that she has had her own abuser, though won't name him, yet works with known paedophiles.
Her silence in 2019 on the issue has allowed the public to instead retrace a damaging 2013 interview, where the Shallow singer DEFENDS him while in Japan;
"R Kelly and I have sometimes, very untrue things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us." Whoa, whoa, whoa. This doesn't look good for Gaga, we have to admit.
I'm confused how #LadyGaga can be so vocal in her support of #MeToo yet remain silent about R. Kelly who by the time she collaborated with him was a well known pedophile and sexual predator. #SurvivingRKelly
She is choosing to remain silent for the moment, though more than a dozen victims who claim to have been raped, enslaved and abused while underage by Kelly have spoken out in the documentary.
Gaga was one of many celebrities who declined to participate in the Surviving R Kelly series, as well as Jay-Z (another collaborator), Dave Chapelle and Mary J Blige.
The move has angered many Gaga fans, given her public history of supporting sexual assault victims.
While Lady Gaga is getting ready for the #GoldenGlobes…she is still silent on R. Kelly…
Jay Z, who during that time did a collaboration album with him, also choose to stay silent…
Is this your pop queen? Is this your Hip-hop king? #SurvivingRKelly
The rage online is palpable, as numerous fans have pointed out that this exact silence is how Kelly has been left to his own enabled devices for years.
In reality, he has had a support system around him who helped him with his predation.
Despite his child pornography trial taking place in 2002, hundreds of high profile celebrities have collaborated with him since, and are potentially only appearing regretful now because it is damaging to their brand.
Here some of the people who have collaborated with R Kelly since his 2002 indictment:
-Jay-Z
-The Game
-T. I.
-T-Pain
-Ludacris
-Kid Rock
-Usher
-Keri Hilson
-2 Chainz
-Lil Wayne
-Jeremih
-Nick Cannon
-Snoop Dogg
-Ciara
-Bow Wow
-Chance the Rapper
A conversation has also arisen surrounding the notion of sexual assault victims and race, with many pointing out that if these women had been black, their stories may have ended differently.
Chance the Rapper has apologised for collaborating with the singer, but upset many people by admitting that he didn't care about the women because they were, in fact, black.
"Making a song with R. Kelly was a mistake. I didn't value the accusers' stories because they were black."
His honesty may be important in continuing this important talk, but the words have understandably hurt millions of women of the black community, who face oppression daily in America.
He later apologised for the quotes, saying they were taken out of context and explaining that the focus should be on the fact that those young black victims were never cared for.
Jada Pinkett Smith is among the celebrities who are asking the same imperative question; Do young black women matter?
“It was incredibly difficult to get people who had collaborated with Kelly to come forward." Heartbreakingly, even friends such as Questlove declined to appear, despite believing the accusers' words.
John Legend was the only high-profile person who appeared in the film, writing on Twitter that it was an "easy decision":
To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn't feel risky at all. I believe these women and don't give a fuck about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision.
R. Kelly has continuously denied the allegations and was acquitted in 2002 of child pornography charges, yet the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.
The documentary is massively upsetting to watch, with woman after woman telling stories with paralleling patterns of his behaviour.
Families of young women are still claiming that their daughters are being held captive by R. Kelly as 'sex slaves.'
Chicago reporter Jim DeRogatis made a report in July of 2017 in which he asserts that Kelly keeps his victims captive in Chicago and Atlanta, and two victims (Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary) remain in his captivity.
Human rights organisation BlackWomensBlueprint tweeted,
"The sad truth is survivors still face push-back from naysayers who question their stories or dismiss the crisis of sexual assault- especially against black women and girls. It's a terrible burden to have to endure."
Jerhonda Pace, a survivor of R.Kelly, said, “I felt like a prisoner. I didn’t have anyone to talk to. It was just me. I went into a depression. I was mentally drained, because he would break me down, then build me up, then make me feel like sh*t again, then do it all over again."
"He would really manipulate my mind. The breaking point for me was when Rob slapped me, and he choked me until I blacked out," she concluded.
Let's not forget that when the singer was 27-years-old, he forged then 15-year-old R&B sensation Aaliyah's documents to claim she was 18 in order to marry her.
The Princess of Urban Pop later died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001 after the unlicensed pilot had cocaine and alcohol in his system.
The documentary's film-maker Dream Hampton claims she hopes "Surviving R. Kelly" serves as a starter tool to "shift culture" and "talk about rape culture and organise against patriarchy, which harms us all."
Non-for-profit advocacy organisation Color of Change tweeted the "strength of black women & girls is determined by how much suffering we can endure. The women in #SurvivingRKelly are our heroes."
Let's hope the conversation will finally spark action and justice for these women.
Their faces have been on the cover of every newspaper and magazine since they announced their engagement, and now Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to take over the big screen.
Us television network Lifetime has revealed that a film about Harry and Meghan’s romance is in the works.
The network is currently casting people for the roles of Harry and Meghan, and seriously, where can we audition?
In the past, Lifetime has produced movies about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship, as well as the controversial flick The Murder of Princess Diana.
The next royal film titled Harry & Meghan: The Royal Love Story is set to air before the royal wedding on May 19.
Menhaj Huda is to direct the movie, which follows the beginning of the lovebird’s relationship and will feature how they met, and the secretive first few months of their relationship.
It’ll come as no surprise to hear that their engagement will also feature in the movie, as well as the intense media attention that followed the announcement back in November.
The movie will also look at Meghan’s past, including her former marriage and career as an actress, which she has since given up.
Due to her new role in the royal family, the Suits star has stepped away from Hollywood, and will now focus on official royal engagements with her husband-to-be.
Speaking about the next chapter of his life with Meghan, Prince Harry shared that his beloved mum will be with there with them, thanks to Meghan’s sentimental engagement ring.
He shared, 'The little diamonds either side are from my mother’s jewellery collection to make sure that she’s with us on this – on this crazy journey together.'
We cannot wait to find out more about Harry and Meghan’s love story. The Lifetime film is rumoured to air before May 2018.
Not much has been revealed about the show yet, but they did say that the TV drama will focus on Selena's experience navigating Hollywood as a young actress.
The highly-anticipated new show will, according to Deadline, be told from the perspective of the young star's close friends.
We're loving the sound of this one, and can't wait to see who will portray Selena in the show.
Comedy gold is about to hit the silver screen. Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig have teamed up again in A Deadly Adoption, a film made for the notoriously soppy Lifetime TV network.
When news of the film leaked last month, many assumed it was all a big joke, but it appears the film is indeed going to happen… and soon.
A huge billboard has just gone up on Hollywood Boulevard promoting the TV movie, which will apparently air in the US on Sunday June 20th.
Reports of a made-for-TV movie staring Will and Kristen first came out on April 1st of this year, and while many concluded it was simply an April Fool's prank, statements from Will and Lifetime soon suggested otherwise.
Both statements indicated that the film would be scrapped now that news had been leaked to the press, and while we're not sure if that was all part of the joke or not, it seems to have been cleared up now.
As die-hard Will Ferrell fans, we couldn’t be happier to hear that the film is finished and is going to be released.
A Deadly Adoption is described as a "‘dramatic thriller," with Kristen and Will playing a couple who befriend a pregnant woman (90210's Jessica Lowndes) because they want to adopt her baby.
Surely enough, things soon start to go awry.
Lifetime is known for their melodramatic plots and low budget films, and A Deadly Adoption is said to be a light-hearted take on that style to celebrate Lifetime’s 25th anniversary.
We can’t believe it – there is a Grumpy Cat movie on the way, and it’s coming out for Christmas!
What’s even better is that it’s not the kind of film you’d expect from an Internet meme sensation (i.e. totally ridiculous and over the top). It actually sounds good, and it even attempts to teach us some morals – like a proper Christmas feel-good flick!
The story is about how Grumpy Cat started out as a happy cat, but after spending most of her life in a pet shop, she grows grumpier each day.
However, when Chrystal comes along and realises she can hear Grumpy Cat talk, both their lives are transformed.
We imagine this will be funny as well as heart-warming. The perfect Christmas combination! And Lifetime have even released the first photo from the film – so exciting!
