When we last heard from R. Kelly he was getting sued for having sex with a sheriff’s deputy’s wife.
This latest report is more serious and more freaky, but is also believable because we are dealing with R. Kelly.
According to a long expose in Buzzfeed, the R&B legend is running an abusive, multi-city sex cult. The website spoke to three former members of his team, who explained how it works.
"Mack, Jones, and McGee say six women live in properties rented by Kelly in Chicago and the Atlanta suburbs, and he controls every aspect of their lives: dictating what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, and how they engage in sexual encounters that he records. According to Mack and Jones, if the women break any of Kelly’s “rules,” he punishes them physically and verbally. The women in Kelly’s entourage initially think “This is R. Kelly, I’m going to live a lavish lifestyle,” said Mack, who worked as Kelly’s personal assistant for a year and a half starting in 2013 and has remained in touch with some members of his inner circle. “No. You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom. … [Kelly] is a master at mind control. … He is a puppet master."Parents of one of the women in the cult have had no contact with their daughter in two years. But since she was legal (19) when Kelly first got her to move in, there is nothing the authorities can do. Police in Illinois and Atlanta have done welfare checks of his residences and say they have found nothing illegal.
[Related: R. Kelly sued for having sex with police officer's wife.]
Kelly's attorney Linda Mensch issued this response to the allegations in the Buzzfeed article.
“We can only wonder why folks would persist in defaming a great artist who loves his fans, works 24/7, and takes care of all of the people in his life,” Mensch wrote. “He works hard to become the best person and artist he can be. It is interesting that stories and tales debunked many years ago turn up when his goal is to stop the violence; put down the guns; and embrace peace and love. I suppose that is the price of fame. Like all of us, Mr. Kelly deserves a personal life. Please respect that.”