All language subtitles for Surviving R. Kelly - 01x06 - Black Girls Matter.TBS.English.HI.C.edit.Addic7ed.com

There is a difference
between R. Kelly and Robert.

R. Kelly is this fun,
laughing, loving guy.

(echoing):
But Robert is the devil.

She fell in love with someone
that is a predator.

It's heartbreaking.

This man is a monster.
That's what he is.

I'm gonna call the police

and tell them
you kidnapped my sister.

This can't keep going on.

You need to see the effects
of your behavior.

He's proving that he's never
going to take responsibility

for his actions.

That's a predator
that's telling y'all,

"I'm-a get these girls
to do what I want 'em to do

when I want 'em to do."

And so we decided to protest.

He needs to worry about righting
his wrongs. Period.

I hope Robert is trying

to get his sense together.

Whatever's in the dark
will come to light.

Time's up for R. Kelly.

♪ ♪

(cheering)

R&B singer R. Kelly
is denying claims

he's keeping
a household of young women

in a cultlike atmosphere.

My name is Timothy Savage.

Stockholm syndrome.

That's what my daughter has
right now.

Never been feeling hostage
or anything like that.

TIMOTHY:
It's been almost two years.

We still haven't seen
our daughter.

REPORTER:
Hey, Joycelyn.

When I saw the TMZ video,

I looked over, and it was
my daughter, Dominique.

I just put two and two
together.

I ain't leaving
this damn hotel.

I did came too damn close.
I'm this far.

KANIKA "KITTI" JONES:
He beat me in the car,

and he was slapping me
repeatedly.

And I just started thinking
of ways to, like,

end my life or end his.

(crying)

Come on, we're leaving.

(woman crying)

(vocalizing)

ALICE CLARY:
Our daughter met R. Kelly

at a concert in Orlando.

ANGELO CLARY: R. Kelly picked
my daughter, Azriel,

to go up on stage.

I knew his background,

but I'm right here with her.
Her mom right here.

None of this
could happen to me.

ALICE:
One day we get a phone call.

"Oh, I'm at a hotel
with R. Kelly."

R. Kelly expresses interest
in working with Azriel

to possibly further
her music career.

And, um, he wanted
to be her mentor.

Honestly, I didn't think

it was a good fit.

Uh, I didn't want
to have any part of it,

but Azriel pressed us.

She made threats

if we didn't, you know,
let her do this.

We told her, like, basically,

for you to do anything else
with him,

she could not be with him
by herself.

She was flying
back and forth, um,

to different cities, but one
of us was always in attendance.

Either myself,
my husband, my son

or my oldest daughter, A'Iceis.

A'ICEIS:
Azriel and I arranged

for me to go to Chicago,

and I was supposed to stay
for about a month or two.

But when I got out there,
it wasn't what

Azriel made it to be.
Nor him, R. Kelly.

Some driver picked me up.

We went to the studio,

and we sitting in there,
and he making music.

And he spoke to me.
"Hey, A'Iceis."

You know, it was cool at first.

But Azriel made it to be
like she could go places,

she could do things.

We couldn't do nothing.

She couldn't walk out the room
without calling R. Kelly.

It was all about
what R. Kelly wanted.

Finally, I went and walked out
to go get me something to eat.

She was just like, "You can't.

You have to come back.
R. Kelly's gonna get us."

"Get us?
No, he's not gonna get us,

'cause I'm a grown-ass woman."

She was like, "No,
you just have to call him

and let him know
where you're going."

I'm not finna keep picking up
the (bleep) phone

and calling R. Kelly.
He ain't my daddy.

My daddy's in Florida.

When I woke up in the morning,
she wasn't there.

So I was like, "Okay,
he must have came and got her."

I was calling Azriel.
No answer.

Well, I know
where their studio is.

I walk to the studio,
and, um, I walked in.

R. Kelly's nephew was there.

He said, "Oh, they left."

And I was like, "They left?"
He was like, "Yeah."

And I was like, "Why?
You know, where's my sister?

"Like, I-I don't know
why would he be leaving

with my sister. I'm here."

So I started yelling,
and I started cussing.

I was like, "Somebody need
to bring my sister out here."

And my sister came out,
and she was like,

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

I was like, "We're leaving.

Like, we're lea-- Let's go."

I started dragging my sister
out of the studio.

And then R. Kelly's
pulling my sister, too,

and I'm pulling her, too.
I'm telling R. Kelly,

"I'm gonna call the police
and tell them

you kidnapped my sister.
Period."

R. Kelly told his security
to make me disappear.

They pinned me down,
carried me out.

They pulled up in the back
of an alley at McDonald's.

I was shoved out.

Didn't know where I was.
They was like,

"If you say anything,

"your sister
won't make it out alive.

Or your family."

My daughter A'Iceis called,
uh, back home.

She was like, "No, Azriel,

she want to be up here,
but we need to leave."

My parents,
they had to get me another room

'cause I told them
I didn't feel safe,

but they didn't know
what was going on

because they said, "Don't
mention anything about it,

or your sister
won't make it out alive."

Had happened, no.
I didn't tell them.

ALICE:
The phone call took me aback,

like something happened.

So me and him flew up
the next day.

ANGELO: Once we flew to Chicago,
we, uh, talked to R. Kelly,

and he explained everything
that was going on.

It wasn't like, uh, our oldest
daughter, A'Iceis, thought.

Azriel assured us,
"Dad, it wasn't like that.

I promise you."

Even A'Iceis downplayed it
once we got there,

like, "It wasn't that serious.

Maybe I just was over the top
with it."

Okay, maybe this, you know.

My daughter overreacted,
you know.

We all got eyes on him now,

so we feeling safe
that she there.

ALICE: At this point,
Azriel was getting ready

to start her senior year
in school.

ANGELO:
Before we left Chicago,

he mentioned
that Azriel would need

to f-fully commit
so that he can hurry up

and get something done for her,

but he was gonna do it
as he's touring.

And I told him
that she can't go

without having somebody
with her.

So if somebody could be
with her, we fine.

ALICE:
So R. Kelly said that he would

-actually have someone
from the record label...
-From the label.

...be a guardian over her,

um, that we could talk to

to make sure she's, you know,
doing her schooling,

that whenever she needed
to get home for something

she would get home,
whatever the case may be.

It would be a female.

So, um, that's what
we had agreed to.

And we actually signed it.

We were on the phone with him,

at this point,
on a regular basis,

so we felt--
seemed like everything was okay,

um, at that point.

It seems that part
of what he was selling is,

"I'm a star,
and I can make you a star."

If you know the story
of the Pied Piper,

the Pied Piper was a...
was a musician,

you know, who led a bunch
of kids out of a village

via music
never to be seen again.

And I just thought
that was insane.

You know, I think that was
his middle finger to the law.

'Cause he was like,
"Yeah, I'm untouchable."

Instead of calling himself
the Teflon Don,

he called himself
the Pied Piper.

And, you know, from what we see,
he-he hasn't stopped

leading, uh, young girls
out of villages

via music ever since.

DR. CANDICE NORCOTT: So,
you work really hard to be seen

as this benevolent
public figure,

but in your private life,

there are these things
that you're doing

that you don't want the public
to know.

So, that tension can create
conflict within a person

that can then look
like anger outbursts.

Somebody can be really relaxed
and happy.

Somebody can be really angry
one minute.

And so that's how I kind of
best understand that...

you know, people saying, "Well,
there are many different sides

of this person, and I'm... we're
not sure what we're gonna get."

Yo, what's up, you guys?
It's your boy, Kells, man.

I just wanted
to break some things down

and talk to you guys,
just to clear some things up.

I've been getting a lot of slack
from, you know, people

about, you know, um, my album

or, you know, my career
and things like that.

Real talk.

We have got to support
each other, man.

Quit playing,
you know what I'm saying?

I've done all of the shows
there is to do.

I've, you know,
I've done all this promotion,

and my company's not
getting behind this album,

The Buffet album.
You know, um...

But I tell you, you know,
none of that, to me, matters.

None of that matters, you know,
because at the end of the day,

it's really about us
coming together.

(distorted): He did
the Huffington Post interview,

and the interviewer asked him
questions about the girls.

And he, um, did not want
to answer the questions.

Would you say that you have
a healthy relationship with sex

and that that
is reflected musically?

I would have to say this:

I did not come here
to get interrogated.

I didn't come here
for a deposition.

You know what a deposition is?

-I'm very aware
of what a deposition is.
-Well, then...

-I'm asking you
about your music.
-You should, then,

you should agree with me when,
when...

-I asked about your music.
-...when I say that this sounds

sort of like a deposition.

What do you say

to the multiple fans,

the many fans who are watching
and listening

-that say there have been...
-I say I love my fans.

-...multiple accusations
against you...
-I say I love my fans.

-against young women in Chicago,
-I say I love all of my fans.

and they are concerned

-about your past,
-People that are against me.

-and that's impacting them
-People that are with me.

-from purchasing
your music sales?
-I love them all.

I love them all.
It doesn't matter who they are,

if they hate me, they love me,

they want to destroy me,
whatever.

I love them all.
And I love you, too.

You don't need to give me

-any of your love, sir.
-I love everybody.

You really don't need to give me
your love. I just wanted

to ask the question.
I have a video question for you

-from a fan if you...
-No video questions for me,

-'cause this interview is over.
-Okay.

-Thank you very much
for coming...
-All right.

FORMER EMPLOYEE:
And so, he was very upset

about that interview.

He just wanted to vent.

He was blaming different people
on staff

about the way
the interview turned out.

That was a time
that he actually wanted to know

what was being said online
about the interview.

R. Kelly can read,

but he has difficulties
reading certain words,

and of course no one
would tell him the truth.

I was one of the people
who lied to him

about what was
being said online.

ALICE: December 30,
Azriel turned 18.

And that is when
all hell broke loose.

ANGELO: Her phone was going
straight to voice mail.

ALICE:
Everything changed,

and we stopped hearing
from her.

At that point, she's 18.
She can do what she want.

I can't make her go anywhere.

So, my daughter A'Iceis

finally told us the truth.

ALICE:
We talked to her.

Like, this came out
months later.

And she was crying. She was
very upset and distraught.

She was telling us
about the incident at the studio

when she was going
through the different rooms

looking for, uh, Azriel.

She knocked
on every one of the doors.

She said there was girls
and stuff in other rooms,

but, like, they couldn't talk.
They wouldn't say anything.

She noticed buckets
in the corner of every room,

and she said that it looked like

they were using the buckets
to use the bathroom in.

A'ICEIS:
I was like,

why would you go from being able
to use your own bathroom

to going in a room where
you have to pee in a corner?

You have to pee in a pitcher.

And then got to,
whenever he tells you,

you can go and dump the piss,
you can go dump it.

PRODUCER:
Why do you think

your daughter,
A'Iceis, changed her story?

-It was because
he had threatened...
-ANGELO: Yeah.

He had threatened her
and us, and...

You know, he could make it bad
for your family, and, yeah,

maybe your mom and your father
and this and that.

So I could see her taking that
into consideration

and think
she's looking out for us,

you know, saving her parents.

But I wish she wouldn't have.
I wish she would've

told me right then and there,
you know?

A'ICEIS:
So, Azriel was with him.

ANGELO: You know,
we're a very close-knit family.

Very. We're very open,

so she could've talked to us
about anything, so for her

to leave her family
was mind-blowing for us.

ALICE: I called the number
that I had for her

three or four times a day.

I don't get an answer,

don't get a reply. I text.

When you have a child
that's lost and passed away,

you know, you know they're gone,

like, you're never
gonna see them again,

but this is a little bit
different,

because I know she's somewhere.

It's just that he won't
allow her to talk to me.

She fell in love with someone
that is a predator.

It's heartbreaking.

(crying)

ALICE: The last time that we saw
Azriel was at her graduation

from high school in 2016.

After Azriel turned 18,

we started having all kinds
of people from social media,

just from everywhere, reaching
out to us, anonymously,

saying, um, you know, all this
was going on with our daughter,

and that we needed
to get her away from him.

Okay, why you didn't
tell us that when she was 17?

And so, this anonymous person

actually put us in touch
with the Savages.

One of their daughters,
Joycelyn, who was 19

at the time
when she met R. Kelly,

is also one of the young ladies

that is with R. Kelly
in his sex cult.

ANGELO:
To meet Tim and his wife--

that was a kind of relief
as a parent, to finally

meet somebody
who actually has gone through

what we're going through,
because all the people

that was around us, they could
say, "Oh, we understand."

You don't understand.

Nobody could ever understand
what it feels like

to have a child
that's living and breathing,

and you can't see 'em.

TIMOTHY:
I had word that Joycelyn was

at the Atlanta house
in Johns Creek.

And we wanted
to do a wellness check.

(distorted):
So, a wellness check

is when you can call the police

to check on someone that
you have not had contact with,

and you're concerned
about the person's well-being.

We're in front
of R. Kelly's house.

We're trying to check on
our daughter, Joycelyn Savage.

Make sure my sister,
Joycelyn Savage, is okay.

And, uh, we're gonna do
what we have to do

to make sure my daughter...

No bruises,
no nothing on her body.

We just want
to make sure she's fine.

If she won't come to us at the
concert, we're gonna go to her.

We're gonna make sure
that we see her.

There's about four,
five police cars here already.

At that time,
um, she wasn't there.

Uh, we talked
to the police department,

did a writ... written statement,
me and my wife.

ALICE: The Savages hadn't talked
to their daughter, either,

for a while,
so, they were like,

"Let's get together to try
to do whatever we could

"to get our girls home,

"and to help other young ladies
so they won't fall victim.

Let's see if we can get Chicago
to do a wellness check."

I was told about the
wellness checks being done at

the house in Atlanta, as well
as the studio in Chicago.

R. Kelly knew
about the wellness check

in Chicago before it happened,
because he has friends

in the police department
in Chicago who warned them.

The police officer went
and talked to the girls.

He told the Savages
about their daughter,

and then he told us
about our daughter.

Um, he basically said

both of the girls were okay,
they looked healthy,

but at the end of the day,
that doesn't mean anything.

My daughter is still not home
with me.

My daughter
is being mistreated.

We really want to know
what is he hiding?

What are you really hiding?

Why won't you let us see
our daughter?

Throughout this whole process,
um,

initially, I had told you,
we had people come out

anonymously and tell us that,
you know, what was going on

with Azriel
once she turned 18.

We have people coming back,
other young ladies,

that's telling us stuff.
I mean, this is crazy.

This man is a monster.
That's what he is.

BURKE: I remember reading
about the Savages and

the Clarys and their desperation
to get their daughters home.

And while I wasn't surprised,
I was surprised.

We've seen such a progression
from the...

from the very first allegations

we heard of,
of him picking up young girls

and having sex with them,

to now.

He's still engaging
in this behavior,

but it feels like
he's being more clever

about the ways that he, um,

preys on this community
of girls.

Getting girls
who are right over the age

so people can't technically say

that
you're with an underage girl.

FORMER EMPLOYEE:
The house in Atlanta,

the main house, is the house
where he stays, and the girls

lived in the house, as well.

In the house,

Azriel kind of had precedence
over the other girls

when it came to where he slept
at night, or whatever

he considered his night.

That's the room
he would sleep in.

She's the girl
he would go to bed with.

In the beginning, Joycelyn was
back and forth to school.

The trainer was a girl
that lived in the house.

She had been there the longest.

She's the girl he really trusts.

Her responsibility was to train
all the girls who he brought in.

Any girl
that R. Kelly slept with,

she slept with them, as well.

He has a certain type of woman
or girl that he will bring

into the house to live,
but as far as a woman

that he would just
mess around with--

he don't really have a type.

Before the girls even become a
permanent fixture in the house,

he gets a feel
of where they are mentally.

If he meets a woman and then
finds out she has it going on,

then that's the girl
who's just gonna come and go.

If the girl seems
like she's weak,

she don't really have
the family's support,

or no one's gonna come
asking questions,

or he's even able
to manipulate the family--

that's the girl
he's gonna bring into the house.

The girls who are in the house
are girls who are

just totally dependent on him.

ASANTE:
He'd go for the younger girls

because they are weak-minded,

but if you're older, and he
feels like you're weak-minded,

he's gonna go for you, too.

It doesn't matter
if you're 16 or if you're 40.

If you can contr...
If he could control you,

that's all he wants.

I was that die-hard fan.

If you said anything bad
about him,

I would put you out of my house.

I would, like...

I would just stop
all communication.

When I first met R. Kelly,
I was just shell-shocked.

I was, like, really nervous,

and, like,
he was just real friendly,

just, you know, talking openly.

Laughing, telling jokes,
and I'd laugh.

R. Kelly and I started dating.

Officially, for us,
it was 2014.

It-it was really like
a high for me, because I...

'cause, again, it's R. Kelly.

(chuckling): So it was like,
I'm engaging in conversation,

texting with R. Kelly.

In the beginning,

he gave me some of the rules,
but not all of the rules.

He pretty much let me know
that he had other girls.

I had to accept it.
If I couldn't accept it,

then there's no need for us
to even try anything.

At the time, knowing that

I was not the only woman
in his life--

I was okay with it because

I felt like he was honest.

I was married before,

and my husband--
he was abusive,

as well as he was a cheater.

And I respected the fact

that R. Kelly was honest
to let me know

that "it's not just you
that I'm seeing."

So, it was just like a dream
come true, and it was like

I was willing to do anything
to please him.

When we started
becoming intimate,

I was living
in my home in Atlanta,

and he was living
in his home in Chicago.

I would travel
back and forth to Chicago,

or whatever city he was at,
as far as the tour.

And then, he was also coming

to Atlanta a lot,
as well, because

he was using someone's studio
and playing basketball.

And so, I was with him

when he was in Atlanta.

As a fly-in,
it was normal life.

Just me and him, two consensual
adults having sex.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Two years
within our relationship,

I started seeing the changes

when he invited me
to move into his house.

The way he invited me...

Well, he didn't invite me.
He told me.

I went to his tour
in Houston, Texas,

and I'm thinking I'm about
to fly home, and I was told

by one of his assistants, "You
need to go get your clothes,

"'cause you're gonna end up

in the next city
without any clothes."

I was like,
"Huh? What do you mean?"

So, I got my suitcase
and got on the bus.

And we ended up in Atlanta
at his house, in Johns Creek.

He said,
"Welcome home, my babies."

And he opened the door,

and I'm like, "Welcome home?"

So he gave us a tour
of his house,

showed me my bedroom,
shows us all our bedrooms.

And he told, you know,

us to go ahead and go in
your room, put your clothes up.

I didn't start ha-having to ask
R. Kelly for permission for--

to eat and stuff until he
actually moved me in the house.

(door squeaks open)

It was just like a nightmare.

FORMER EMPLOYEE:
Robert has to strategically

spread his money out
and pay certain bills,

uh, because he's lost money.

He don't have the income coming
in like he has previously,

so he did get evicted
from the house in Atlanta.

ASANTE:
Just being here

and just seeing this door
is about to bring back

a whole bunch of memories

that I never thought
I had to revisit.

(door creaks open)

Wow.

This looks totally different

from when...
the last time I was here.

So, upstairs is where all
of the bedrooms are,

other than his bedroom.

Right here,

this is my bedroom right here.

I don't think
I want to go in there.

I'm gonna just show you guys
the other bedrooms.

In my opinion,

I feel like this
is the wickedest part.

The whole room was black.

He had black curtains.

He had, basically--
Furniture was black.

And right here in the middle
was the actual bed.

And I just really feel like...

this room right here...

(voice breaking):
...besides my bedroom,

was, like,
the most degrading thing ever

for-- I mean, it's, like--

things that happened in here

that you wouldn't
even think that would happen,

but you had
to pretty much agree to it.

No matter how demeaning
it felt or seemed,

you had to always just play
along with it.

And it was just,
like, you had Rob

pretty much, like,
making you do the unthinkable.

And I just feel like...
I never thought that I would

ever come back to this house
and especially this room.

I never realized

how much this room hurts me.

(sniffles)
But a-actually coming in here,

I don't want to ever revisit
this room again.

(sniffles, crying)

(sniffles)

(crying)

This is just...

(sniffles)

(crying)

(sniffles)

(crying)

e crying)

ASANTE:
I remember, at times,

coming out of my room.
(sniffles)

In order to come down my steps,

I had to beat for him

to actually give me permission.
And when I say "beat,"

-I literally had to do this...
-(stomping)

...for him to hear me.

It's been times
where I've knocked for hours,

and he just did not respond.

A person don't love you
if he's treating you like that.

And I just knew
I had to get out.

So I packed my bags
and left the house.

Before I actually met him
personally--

I guess because I was
just so much of that fan--

I just couldn't see him
as being that monster.

But now,
actually being in that house

and witnessing with my own eyes,

I regret not listening
and believing

of the allegations
that happened.

There is a difference
between R. Kelly and Robert.

R. Kelly is this fun,
laughing, loving guy.

But Robert is the devil.

ORONIKE ODELEYE: Mute R. Kelly
started in the summer of 2017,

when the allegations came out
about him having

what the media
were calling sex cults

in his home here in Atlanta.

The goals of Mute R. Kelly in
the beginning were very humble.

It was, "Let's get him
off Atlanta radio."

"And let's get his concerts
cancelled."

I thought that that would be
a really, kind of, simple ask,

with the 25 years of receipts

that we have
against this person.

Um, and that was met
with resounding silence.

Um, you know, the radio stations
would not respond,

would not call me back.

We'd been playing R. Kelly music
and hearing these rumors

and sometimes accusations
of-of R. Kelly.

But radio has always
just concentrated on the music

and not the--
and not the background.

And that is our fault.

At the same time,
we discovered that he was--

had a concert
coming up in Atlanta.

And so we decided to, um--

to protest.

WOMAN:
What'd we come to do?!

PROTESTORS:
Mute R. Kelly!

WOMAN:
And when we gonna do it?!

PROTESTORS:
Now!

ODELEYE:
The response

was very, kind of, polarized,
I think,

as the black community is
on R. Kelly.

-WOMEN: R. Kelly!
-(laughter)

You know,
he's been the same for years.

Who are we to judge?

The protestors
don't affect anything.

ODELEYE: And then, on the other
hand, people are like,

"Hallelujah, finally,
somebody's doing something."

And from there,

people started reaching us out,
like, "Hey,

he's coming to Dallas."

"He's coming to Detroit."

"What can we do?"

They fought back and said,

"We do not want him
performing here."

-WOMAN: Shame on you!
-PROTESTORS: Shame on you!

-WOMAN: Shame on you!
-Shame on you!

-WOMAN: Black girls'...
-Black girls'...

-WOMAN: ...lives matter!
-...lives matter!

I am a-a R. Kelly fan.

There's two sides
to every story.

FAN:
I'm here for the music

and nothing else.

And so we started to organize

the people locally
in those towns,

to hold protests,

to ask venues to cancel it.

We've held seven protests

in cities around the country.

R. Kelly may have to find

a new spot
to hold his next concert.

And it's, you know,
just grown and grown and grown.

REPORTER: Kelly says
he and his attorneys plan

to get to the bottom
of the cancellation

of his performance.

BURKE:
In 2017,

these two big stories
come out about R. Kelly,

around him
holding the girls captive.

And it falls right
into this continuum of stories

that have come out
around sexual misconduct,

sexual harassment
in mainstream industries.

And in September,
we have the huge

Harvey Weinstein articles drop,

which propelled
this whole movement forward.

And R. Kelly
doesn't get included in that.

Jerhonda Pace broke her NDA
around R. Kelly,

and I wanted
to shine light on that

and continue to keep
the conversation about R. Kelly

and the accusations against him
in the public eye.

-Like, I was 16.
I didn't know...
-MAI: Were you scared? What was

-running through your head?
-Yeah, how were you feeling
when all that was happening?

Very frightened.
And, like, he would slap you

in your face, and he would
physically, like, harm you.

There are six women
that R. Kelly-- allegedly--

lives with and controls them.

NELSON: When usually
one person comes forward,

-the door kind of opens.
We saw this with #MeToo.
-Mm-hmm.

NELSON: The question here is
why does R. Kelly

always survive this?
And the second biggest question

is why is the black community
complicit in silence?

If them kids
were Caucasian young women,

we would not be going
through this.

The most disrespected woman
in America, historically,

has always been the black woman.

You know, I always say, if you
want to get away with murder,

kill a black rapper.

If you want to get away
with sexual assault,

assault a young black girl.

If R. Kelly had been doing this
to white women-- oh, my God.

The fact that
it's mostly young black girls

that he preys on,
simply nobody cares.

BURKE:
These families came forward

and were making desperate pleas
to get their children back,

to get their-their daughters
back home

and away from R. Kelly.

We've been watching them since
they came forward in 2017,

tried various attempts
to get media attention,

but it doesn't take hold.

And again, I think that goes
back into this idea that

black girls don't matter.

They don't matter enough.

And it's proven
over and over again.

We still socially don't perceive
young black women as innocent,

as deserving of protection;
somehow it's their fault.

When the reality is that
the problem isn't the girls,

the problem is the predators.

The way that we in society
talk about

and think about sexual violence,
a lot of times

it puts the onus on the victim.

People are brainwashed into
thinking that they have

some complicity in
their own abuse.

And so they don't come forward
because of the deep shame,

the fear of being ostracized
in their community.

There are all these
different factors

that allow people
to stay silent.

ASANTE:
We're not blaming R. Kelly

for what he's doing,

we're blaming each other.

When you have fans like myself,

when I was that fan,
that die-hard fan,

and I just felt like,
"Oh, these girls are lying."

DR. JODY ADEWALE:
People who stand up

and say, "I've been victimized.
I've been sexually abused,"

we, as-as a society, tend
to meet it with skepticism.

Because there have been cases
where people have lied.

What do these young ladies
have to gain from lying?

Oh, it's not like R. Kelly is
some rich billionaire

that's just out here cutting
checks to everybody.

It seems to me like
some of these young ladies

just want to see the truth.

And I think with the whole
Time's Up/Me Too movement,

and they see everybody else,
you know,

getting their careers cancelled
and people getting convicted,

they're like, "Yo, well,
we want some justice, too.

"Can we use some of this
Time's Up/Me Too movement energy

to get-get him, get him gone?"

R. Kelly's victims,
nobody just cares about the--

the black women that speak out,
especially the black community.

It's the black community
that bashes the black women

that speak out about abuse.

ODELEYE: You have this,
you know, powerful person

that's beloved in
the African-American community.

And then you have a victim
that nobody cares about.

Um, and the greater society
perpetuates stereotypes

about black women that
internally you start to believe.

We'll believe it if it's
a convenient excuse

not to have to deal with
the reality of R. Kelly,

and how we've been supporting
and enabling him for decades.

NORAH O'DONNELL: A woman is
suing singer-songwriter

R. Kelly for allegedly
failing to disclose

a sexually transmitted disease.

She also accuses him
of sexual battery.

REPORTER 4: This woman, Faith
Rodgers, says that she was

in a relationship with R. Kelly
when she was 19

for nearly a year
before leaving.

My name is Faith, and I met
R. Kelly in March of 2017.

He kind of had, like,
a goofiness to him

when I initially met him.

I knew he was older,
but when he gave me his number,

I wasn't thinking

things would be where they are,
um, almost a year later.

He really was persistent,
and he would call me,

and we would just talk about
regular things.

I was flattered.

Nothing ever came off as...
negative to me

in our conversations
in the beginning.

So, the next time I saw
R. Kelly was in May of 2017.

I flew to New York for a show.

(crowd cheering)

So, after the show,
I went back to the room,

ended up falling asleep.
At 6:00 a.m.,

pounding at the door.

Pounding, not knocking.
He's pounding at the door.

Our conversations had been
so great,

I expected the first encounter
to go different.

It was consensual,
but it was consented

by intimidation.

I felt just, like,
something I had to do,

not that I wanted to do,

but I had to do
because it was R. Kelly.

And who are you
to tell R. Kelly no?

He's the type of person--
He's very demanding.

He's like a director,
and this is his movie.

So, he's-he's like,
"Do you like it?"

And I'm not responding.

And he's like,
"Tell Daddy you like it."

And I'm still not responding.

And he's like, "We need to work
on your moaning skills."

So, right away,
he's critiquing me.

And the whole time, you know,
he's-he's saying really...

perverted things, almost.

Um, he's like,
"Young-- young tight (bleep),"

and things like that.

And so, eventually, he stops.

And I look back,
and there's an iPad.

And I just turn my head away,
you know.

I didn't want my face
to be on it.

Two months went by.

The BuzzFeed thing about the
harem, that came out in July.

I knew he was intimidating, um,
but these allegations came out.

And they sounded so extreme.

How could he kidnap somebody?

How could he abuse somebody
and beat them?

It was just twisted.

So I was really
sitting there, confused.

The only conversation we had
about it was him saying,

"It's not true."
That these were lies.

Closer to the end of the year,
December,

I had flown down
for his concert in Dallas.

We were in a hotel room.

He kind of had gone on this
emotional spiel,

you know, um, about life.

And then he revealed to me
about "the girls."

He described them to be
a family.

He made it seem like
a family thing.

Um, "These are women
that I raise.

"Some have been with me
for 15 years.

Some of them have been with me
for five years."

So he's sitting there
and he's thinking,

and I can see him thinking
'cause he,

you know, he's like this.

So I'm like, "What is he about
to do? Or ask me to do?"

He makes a phone call,
and he's like,

"Get dressed,
we're coming downstairs."

So I'm like,
"Who are we going to see?"

We go downstairs,

and, um, he opens the door.

And it's the girl I saw
in the TMZ stuff.

I'm like, "Oh.

She's the girl that her parents
said that she was kidnapped."

FAITH:
We were in a hotel room.

R. Kelly, he opens the door.

And it's the girl I saw
in the TMZ stuff.

I'm like,
"Oh. She's the girl

that her parents said
that she was kidnapped."

She literally, like, jumped up
to him like a puppy,

and kisses him on the mouth.

Seeing Joycelyn do exactly
what he told her to do,

she's not acting like
a real person.

She's acting like a robot.

Everything he said was so funny.

Or, you know, she was right
there, just like, in awe of him.

And it's like,
but when he would leave,

she would just be numb.

I wouldn't say
she was kidnapped.

Brainwashed? Yes, absolutely.

ADEWALE: Our clinical term
for brainwashing

is psychological manipulation.

There's nothing stopping you
from leaving,

but an individual might stay
because he or she might believe,

"I can't get out
of this situation."

FAITH: When I walked away
from the situation,

I didn't walk away because
things had gotten bad

and, you know, he-he didn't want
to talk to me. No.

I had made a conscious decision
that I wasn't gonna

involve myself with someone
who's doing this to young girls,

and women,
because that's not who I am.

That's not what I stand for.

I had cut ties with him
in February.

And I had no intentions
on getting back with him.

I just wanted to move on.

So after it was over
and done with,

I made the decision
to reach out to the Savages.

I went to tell them about
how it went

with me meeting
their daughter Joycelyn.

FAITH (over phone): When I--
when I did meet her, um...

like, she opened
the door and like,

he, like, looked at me
and he looked at her.

And he was like, "I want y'all
to get to know each other."

-Mm.
-(laughs): So, uh...

I was just like, "Okay."

Because, you know, like seeing
all that stuff on the news,

then, like, seeing her video
and then seeing her in person,

like, it all was just
really, like, wow.

Like, this is real life.

Right. I mean, it's not a game--
it's not a joke.

If you're-- if you were around
long enough, he would have

cut you off from your father
and your entire family.

And your old friends
and everything.

(sighs)

FAITH: Of course
they were upset, you know?

But they were like, "Thank you

for telling us,
we haven't seen her."

And the fact that
they had to ask me,

"Well, what does she look like?
Was she skinnier?"

Things like that,
you shouldn't have to ask

about your own child.

So that hit home for me,
and I couldn't imagine

what my parents would feel like
if that were me.

So from there,
they begin to tell me

more disturbing things
about R. Kelly.

And Tim Savage,

he asked me if I had been
checked for STDs

since I've been with him.

And I'm like, "Why?"
and he's like,

"I know for a fact my daughter
has an incurable STD.

And she got it from R. Kelly."

After I reached out
to the Savages,

I went and got a blood test

and it came back positive

for herpes.

My initial reaction:
I wasn't angry at him.

I was angry at myself.

And I had already came
to a point where I decided,

you know, I was done with him.

And then, on the other hand,
I was like,

"If it were somebody in my city

"and they gave me a-an STD,
I would address it.

I would pretty much make sure
they were held accountable."

So why not hold him

on the same platform?

I knew I had to spread
the word.

I wasn't gonna wait

ten or 20 years to come out
and say he did that to me.

I was gonna come out now.

NEWS REPORTER: A young woman
claimed singer R. Kelly

intentionally gave her an STD,

and now Dallas police
are investigating.

When Mr. Kelly,
who was infested with her--

uh, infected with herpes,
engaged in sexual conduct

with my client without informing
him of her status--

of his status,
he committed a crime.

TOURE: So much evidence has been
on the table for so long,

and it seems like,
in the last two years,

there's been, like,
even more momentum of, like,

"Whoa, this sex cult thing,"
like, "Whoa, this other story.

Whoa, this woman
he gave an STD to."

Why is RCA Records still
in business with him?

R. Kelly is not really

an active recording artist
right now.

He's not on the roster.

RCA does not expect

a new album from him this year
or next year.

There are a lot of music
business institutions

that we need to look at to say,
"Why are you continuing

to support this
after all this time?"

BURKE:
There were a series of events

in the spring
that really amplified

the work around R. Kelly.

(audience cheering)

We really haven't had

a person in hip-hop
who just straight-out said,

"He's guilty."

So Vince Staples at Coachella
makes this statement

about R. Kelly being a pedophile
and it goes viral.

R. Kelly never went to jail and
he's a (bleep) child molester.

-Okay, let's never
talk about R....
-He's a child molester.

I'm a good person, all right?
R. Kelly is a piece of (bleep).

So, if a piece of (bleep)
R. Kelly didn't go to jail

for being a child molester
and peeing on people

and having a human trafficking
ring in Atlanta,

then I'll be all right.

So we're seeing people now
starting to,

to kind of get on board
and that tide is turning.

Making a song with R. Kelly
was a mistake.

♪ Turn that star up
in paradise... ♪

I didn't value
the accusers' stories, like...

-Hmm.
-Because they were
blackmailing him.

I made a mistake.

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD:
I can't even exert

any more energy telling y'all
how-how trash R. Kelly is.

I've been saying R. Kelly
is trash for years.

I-I think R. Kelly
is on everybody's, uh,

permanently cancelled list.

All of this is wrong.

R. Kelly has a sickness.
(chuckles)

Yes, I believe R. Kelly's
a dirtbag scumbag,

and somebody
should press charges

and try to prosecute again.

Press charges, let's go!
Ride out!

BURKE: Tom Joyner is
the Black America Radio Host.

He has hundreds

of syndicated radio stations
around the country.

He had continued to play
his music and so,

it felt to me like there was
an-- huge support

from Tom Joyner
around R. Kelly.

We need
the Tom Joyner Morning Show

-to stop supporting R. Kelly.
-TOM JOYNER: You got it.

Yeah, I won't play
any more R. Kelly music.

And I was actually shocked.
(chuckles)

I was shocked.

Pleasantly, you know,
it's clearly--

but, it's-- that's a big deal.

It felt like a victory.

Radio host like Tom Joyner,

um, say "We're not gonna
play him anymore,"

and this is at the core of,
you know, the R. Kelly audience

and the type of stations
that would play him.

Um, this is highly significant.

ANN POWERS: I think Mute R.
Kelly is a great example

of the viral way that activism
is happening

around Me Too and these issues
in the music industry.

BURKE:
May of 2018,

the Women of Color and Time's
Up got together and wrote

this public letter
and it went viral.

WENDY WILLIAMS:
There's a group

of really powerful black women,
including: Shonda Rhimes,

Eva Longoria, Ava DuVernay,
Kerry Washington, Viola Davis.

They've all announced
this campaign

that they're on-- behind:

-Mute R. Kelly.
-(cheering)

Other celebrities,
non-black celebrities,

who also amplified it.

So, that's huge.

ORONIKE: The Me Too movement
and Time's Up movement

coming behind
the Mute R. Kelly movement

have really kind of helped
push that, you know, forward

in the national consciousness.

It's one thing
for Oronike to say,

"You should stop listening
to R. Kelly."

It's another thing
for Ava DuVernay.

And if John Legend coming out,
and Questlove coming out?

Other men who have come out,
that makes people think

about it in a different
kind of a way.

And the response we got from it
was just overwhelming.

I mean, it just-- people
who had never heard of it,

they thought we started
this movement yesterday.

And as the movement has ex--
has expanded,

people have kind of dictated
where it's going.

They said to us, you know,
"Hey, what about streaming?

You guys should
go after streaming."

Streaming service Spotify
is removing R. Kelly's music

from its playlists
and recommendations.

It's just the latest in the
growing backlash against Kelly,

who's been accused of
sexual misconduct for decades.

ORONIKE:
Spotify saying, basically,

they're gonna, like,
downgrade him,

so they're no longer
going to put him

on curated playlists
or sponsored playlists,

is important.

NEWS ANCHOR:
R. Kelly apologizes to fans

after a Chicago concert
is abruptly cancelled.

Promoters opted to pull Kelly
out of the lineup

that included Xscap3
and Lyfe Jennings.

ORONIKE:
To get Chicago to say,

"We don't want you here.
You can't perform,"

was just an amazing victory.
I mean, I-I was floored

when I heard that they decided
to cancel that concert,

but it was so important.

Yo, what's up, y'all?

This ya boy, Kells,
man, and, uh...

I don't know why
they cancelled the show.

Um, I never heard
of a show being cancelled

because of rumors.

Don't put that on me. You know?

That ain't on me, all right?

The more we talk about this,

the more we see what R. Kelly
has been doing historically,

over and over and over again.

And then all these cases
that he's settled.

We have to keep pushing,
and keep pushing

till we get some indictments,
you know? Keep pushing.

For some reason, he has--
he is-- he's Teflon.

And I don't get that.

I don't get
why the justice system

can't bring him to justice.

LEGEND:
He is a serial abuser

that has, uh, gotten away
with it for far too long.

And I think time's up
for R. Kelly.

Um, being accepted
by the entertainment industry

a-and just kind of
allowed to, uh,

make money and be treated
as though he didn't do

all these terrible things,
um, time's up for that.

WOMAN:
Mute R. Kelly!

PROTESTERS:
Mute R. Kelly!

ANGELO: Not having
any contact with Azriel,

we started growing suspicious.

We started investigating,
and once we found out

her iCloud was still
under her mother name,

we went into it and looked at
text messages,

and we found some really
disturbing text messages

between them.

They had sex in Florida
that first time they met.

In, uh, 2015,
when she was 17 years old.

It makes me feel,
as a father...

less than a man,
if that makes sense.

A piece of me seemed
to die off.

I don't know anything about
the Azriel that's 20 now.

My daughter's no different
than the Savages.

I think the TMZ article

with Joy Savage was a statement

to every mother and every
father that has a daughter.

That's a predator
that's telling y'all,

"I don't care what y'all
think about me.

"I'm-a show you,
I'm-a get these girls to do

what I want 'em to do,
when I want 'em to do."

And if anybody need education,
go look at some pimp movies.

Go look at Superfly and
all them old '60s movies.

R. Kelly blueprint is the same
as a pimp.

And what they doing is
showing you,

"I don't care how much you cry,

'I want my daughter,
I want my daughter!'"

Your daughter going to be

whatever he want her to be

until he finish with her
and give her back.

And I'm not putting down
any other father,

but it's a little different

when he dealing with me.

We not going to do
"Hey" to TMZ,

the BuzzFeed back and forth.

We're not going to play
that game.

ALICE:
Azriel!

Az!

Azriel, open the door!

Azzy.

I know she ain't going to open
that mother(bleep) studio door.

CAMERAMAN:
How you know she in there?

-ALICE: Yeah, how you doing?
-We have word that she here.

ALICE:
I need to do a welfare check.

She may be harmed or something,
but I need to see

if my daughter's okay.

I have not seen her
in three years.

ALICE:
Dominique, she escaped,

and she's home
with her mom now.

And she was the one that told us
that Azriel actually is--

was left in Chicago,
up here in a studio.

I need to get in and make sure
that she's okay.

All right, thank you.

She basically said
that Azriel has been

wanting to leave for a while,
and that, uh,

she actually escaped before,
and they found her

running down the street
or something.

And so they brought her back.

You know, that's why she don't
really have any--

I guess she don't get to be
around nobody else anymore.

So, I don't know.

I'm Alice Clary. I'm the one
who placed the call.

Our daughter,
we got a tip that she's here

and she's trying to leave, so
we need to do a wellness check.

ALICE: We think here.
We don't know.

POLICE OFFICER:
She didn't say anything?

ALICE: She's been here with him
for three years.

We have not seen our daughter
in three years.

ALICE:
Mm-hmm.

The police said there was
nothing they can do

as a well check if nobody's
willing to open the door.

So... at this point we just
got to wait and see

if somebody can open the door.

I'm going to stay here all
night, I'm not leaving.

ANGELO:
Hey!

(rock clatters)

ALICE:
At this point,

if you are our daughter, then
come back outside or something.

Talk to us or whatever.
Let us know something.

ANGELO:
Hey!

-ALICE (screams):
Open the door!
-ANGELO: Hey!

CAMERAMAN: (bleep) (bleep)
Stop, stop, stop.

ALICE: Clearly, someone is
in the building.

We just watched a young lady
come up,

turn the lights off, close the
blinds and everything, so...

PRODUCER:
Mmm...

But we couldn't tell.
It kind of looked like

it could have been her,

but she did it so quick.

PRODUCER:
Mm-hmm.

ALICE:
We just seen a silo-- like,

you know, her do it,
like, her arm--

I don't know.

(Angelo pleading)

This a bad place
for any parent to be.

You know,
outside of a building...

ALICE:
You don't know everything!

ANGELO: ...that your child may
be in, or may not be in.

This might as well be a prison.

ALICE: I need to see that that
young girl is not my daughter.

ANGELO: We want to make sure
it ain't her.

ALICE: This is the only lead
we have had in three years.

I am desperate at this point.

I don't want nothing
from none of them.

They play a lot games
with this man, that's on them.

If they want to protect
a (bleep) pedophile,

that's on them, that's cool.

I just need to know
if my daughter is in there.

If she is of age and she says
no, that's fine, I will leave.

I just need to see
if that is her.

I don't know.

At this point... uh...

d a very

interesting conversation
with him

that lasted for about two hours
last spring.

All of a sudden,
the phone rings.

And the conversation
that I had with him,

I promised him confidentiality.

He told me I could
ask him anything.

And I asked him everything.

And he answered... everything.

I don't know why he wanted
to talk to me.

It was almost like he wanted
to purge or something.

He didn't tell me
he likes young girls.

He told me he likes
petite women.

You know, a particular height
and size.

He didn't say he likes young
girls, but the court records--

you know, the allegations--
speak for themselves.

He doesn't have to say it.

And when we finished having
our conversation,

the "I Admit" song came out.

Singer R. Kelly released
a new 19-minute song today

that addresses several sexual
abuse allegations against him.

The song is titled "I Admit"
and is posted to SoundCloud.

♪ I admit it, I did-- did it ♪

♪ ♪

Like a lot of his music, it's
very much telling on himself.

♪ ♪

♪ I admit, I admit, I admit. ♪

Having been around music culture
my whole life,

in the past, R. Kelly's always
been able to make

his outrageousness
into a story that sells.

So, it was just
par for the course

when he released "I Admit."

It's the dumbest damn 19 minutes
in the universe.

He doesn't admit anything,

he just proves that
he's a narcissist.

He proves that
he's gaslighting.

He's proving that he's never
going to take responsibility

for his actions.

GEORGE: It's crazy.
Throughout his music,

he's been remarkably frank
about his predilections...

(crowd shouting)

...about his freakiness.

About levels of control, even.
They're in there.

So, I mean,
it's not like he's hidden.

But we have been afraid to look.

NORCOTT:
Somebody will work hard to have

a very polished, very popular

persona in the public
so that when somebody

will make these accusations,

and they'll be able to say,
"Does that even sound like me?

"Right? Like that-- I would--
I would never do that.

"Why would I risk all of this,
all that I have,

my-- your perception of me
for that?"

KATHY CHANEY: I really don't
think that R. Kelly knows who

Robert Sylvester Kelly is.

I think he may be struggling
with, "Who am I really?

Who is this person
that I've become?"

LEGEND: R. Kelly has brought
so much pain

to so many people.

And he should be ashamed
of himself.

And, um, I hope there is
some justice

done to him at some point.

♪ ♪

PRODUCER: If R. Kelly was
watching right now,

what would you want to say
to him directly?

R. Kelly, if you watching this,

I just want to hear
my daughter voice.

You're keeping her from
not just me and my wife,

her whole entire family.

If I ever come across you again,

it's on and popping.

That's your head.

ANGELO: Once she start,
I'm right beside her.

And I don't mind going to jail.

I've been there before,
and I'll go there back again.

Take responsibility for
the lives that you've destroyed.

JOVANTE: You are not exempt.
You are not special.

You need to see the effects
of your behavior.

(crying):
Quit-- Quit hurting people.

Quit hurting these girls.

LIZZETTE:
Stop seeking young women

to fulfill
your sexual deviancy.

This can't keep going on.

PRODUCER: What do you think
Robert's doing right now?

I hope Robert is trying
to get his sense together.

Whatever is in the dark
will come to light.

And until you do right
by all of them girls...

...nothing is going
to come good to you.

Mark my word.

(woman vocalizing)

♪ ♪

I'm just really happy that
I can speak out,

and I don't have to

accept his money for my silence.

He's no longer controlling me.

♪ ♪

♪ We are ready ♪

♪ If you didn't know... ♪

Even though it was hard--
it's even hard

reliving it and talking
about it--

I'm proud of telling my story.

It's a testimony
to help other people.

♪ We'll be right here ♪

-♪ Ready ♪
-♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Ready, oh, oh ♪

-♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
-♪ Oh, oh, oh... ♪

The reason why
I consider myself a survivor:

because I did not let this
break me down.

I could have easily let this
situation-- But I didn't.

♪ ♪

♪ We are ready ♪

♪ Been going on too long ♪

♪ We are ready ♪

♪ And we've had about enough ♪

♪ Oh, we are ready ♪

♪ Won't be silent no more... ♪

I don't like to claim
a victim anymore.

I w-- I was a victim.

PRODUCER:
Are you a survivor?

I am a survivor.
(chuckles)

-♪ Ready ♪
-♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Ready... ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ But on this crazy obstacle
course I've been on ♪

♪ I mean, now, more than ever ♪

♪ I'm ready ♪

♪ We are ready ♪

♪ We'll be right here, ready. ♪