R Kelly ordered victim to cut hair short because he wanted her to look like a boy: 'He was secretly attracted to the same sex'
Apart from completely controlling his victims' minds and lives, R&B singer R Kelly, who is facing multiple counts of underage rape charges, was also rumored to want one of his victims to look more like a boy because he was secretly attracted to the same sex.
Dominique Gardner was involved with R Kelly for nine years, during which, she broke off all contacts with her family till she reunited with her mother, Michelle Kramer, in May 2019, after she went to pay her a visit at a hotel she was staying at with the singer. Although Gardner went back to Kelly briefly, she permanently left him after two weeks as he did not allow her to attend her younger brother’s graduation.
In the documentary, 'Surviving R Kelly Part II: The Reckoning,' both Kramer and Gardner spoke about the hold that Kelly had on his victims, including deciding when they got to eat and use the bathroom. If any of the victims violated any of the rules, there used to be "punishments" which usually meant physical assaults. In Gardner's case, it also meant violently pulling her long hair.
"He pulled her hair out. It was part of her whooping. There was big patches of, chunks of her hair gone," Kramer said.
Gardner explained why she ended up cutting her hair short. "He just saw it like, 'What's going on with your hair?' I am just like, 'Well... you pulled it kind of hard, where just at a point yanked it out. So when I went to comb with a brush, it was just falling out.' He just go, 'Well I think you might look nice with short hair.' My hair was damaged anyway so, just cut it," she said.
When the show's producer, who was also the interviewer, asked her, "There were rumors that Rob wanted you to look more like a boy for a reason. Is that true?" Gardner said, "I prefer not to talk about that."
A former employee of R Kelly, who went on record on the condition of anonymity to speak about the allegations against the singer, said he was not aware of the accused's attraction toward boys till he heard a couple of his female victims who were staying with him start to gossip about a guy who was frequently seen tagging along with Kelly and had even visited their house on occasions.
Meanwhile, Kramer said after she was reunited with her daughter, she did everything she could to make her feel comfortable and forget her ordeal. "When she came home, I didn't want her to feel inadequate. So I cut my hair to be with her. I am my daughter's keeper so I love my new style. We're like twins."
‘Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning’ airs across three nights, beginning January 2 at 9 pm ET/PT.