Today, the Village Voice published a shocking article about R. Kelly‘s history of alleged sexual abuse. The story, titled “Read the ‘Stomach-Churning’ Sexual Assault Accusations Against R. Kelly in Full,” centered around an interview with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jim DeRogatis, the journalist who broke the R. Kelly assault story nearly 15 years ago. Along with detailing many of the disturbing charges — including interactions with underage girls — DeRogatis criticized the media for letting Kells off the hook and giving him the go-ahead to release his latest sexually-charged album, Black Panties.
Rapes, plural. It is on record. Rapes in the dozen. So stop hedging your words and when you tell me what a brilliant ode to pussy Black Panties is, then realize that the next sentence should say: “This, from a man who has committed numerous rapes.” The guy was a monster! Just say it! We do have a justice system and he was acquitted. OK, fine. And these other women took the civil-lawsuit route. He was tried on very narrow grounds. He was tried on a 29-minute, 36-second videotape. He was tried on trading child pornography. He was not tried for rape. He was acquitted of making child pornography. He’s never been tried in court for rape, but look at the statistics… He’s never had his day in court as a rapist. It’s 15 years in the past now, but this record exists. You have to make a choice, as a listener, if music matters to you as more than mere entertainment. And you and I have spent our entire lives with that conviction. This is not just entertainment, this is our lifeblood. This matters.
Listen to R. Kelly’s response and the full interview below:
(Source: Hello Beautiful)
