R Kelly's mother took $5,000 to not testify against man who sexually abused him as a child, claims singer's brother
‘Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning’ picks up where the original documentary—after which the disgraced R&B singer was formally charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse—left off.
Apart from fresh never-before-heard testimonies from child rape survivors and criminals as well as psychiatric experts, the latest part deals with the aftermath and shockwaves sent across the globe by the release of the first part of the explosive documentary.
Before it even aired on Lifetime in December 2018, the show created headlines when attendees at its premiere at NeueHouse Madison Square in New York, were forced to evacuate following a bomb scare, which was called in 20 minutes into the film's screening. Although there was no proof, the popular belief among his victims and protesters was that the musician had called in the threat to disrupt the event.
The second part also addressed R. Kelly’s outburst in an interview with Gayle King where the singer said, “Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my f*****g life!”
But while the documentary once again continued to explore how the accused could get away with abusing underage girls for a span of 30 years, Part II simultaneously gave the audience a glimpse of the singer's childhood and a history of abuse that might have played a significant role in turning R. Kelly into a potential pedophile - a tale that was corroborated by his brothers, Bruce and Carey, both of whom also testified in the first part of the documentary.
Just like the original documentary, Bruce Kelly, Robert Kelly's older brother, was interviewed from inside the Shawnee Correctional Center in Vienna, Illinois, where he is currently incarcerated for theft, burglary, possession of a controlled substance and an outstanding arrest warrant.
After declaring at the beginning of the interview that despite what was being said about his brother, he still loved him, Bruce said, "Robert can't handle this... Robert is used to hiding with his music. But there's no music to hide with now..."
Both Bruce and Carey describe R. Kelly as a timid boy who stayed in the house and played on his keyboard while the rest of his siblings mingled with friends their age and played outdoors. All three of them looked out for each other.
They formed a band together at some point during their childhood. Despite receiving no formal training in music, all of them had a natural interest, nourished by their mother, who has a golden voice.
But among them all, the most amount of talent belonged to R. Kelly. "The moment that he opened his mouth and sang, we all knew that he was special," Carey said.
When the brothers moved onto talk about a man in his 60s living in their building called Ely Henry, their cheery tone changed. Although none of them thought that the friendly "neighborhood uncle" was much of a threat, they soon discovered otherwise.
Carey recalled an instance where the three of them had gone over to Henry's apartment and on seeing him wearing nothing but black boxers, asked him why he did not have more clothes on. When the middle-aged man turned toward them, they saw him holding his private parts, which he had pulled out of his underwear, in his hands.
The brothers then dashed out of the apartment as fast as they could, Carey added. Another instance involved R. Kelly complaining about Henry after the latter tried to touch him inappropriately.
Although the man was first beaten up by the people in the community and then thrown in jail, he managed to easily get bail. "He gave my mom $5,000 for her not to come to court. And she didn't come to court," Bruce revealed. "I don't have any ill will for my mom because I know she was struggling but if it had been my child, I don't think, no amount of money would've made me not prosecute that dude."
R. Kelly also mentioned being abused by an anonymous family member in his song, 'I Admit,' whose lyrics include the line, "I admit a family member touched me, from a child to the age 14." Although Carey did not explicitly mention who the alleged abuser in the family was, he admitted being abused by the member too when he was young and that member was not much older than they were at the time.
"I was six years old when it first happened," confessed Carey, before going into graphic details about how the abuse took place. He also admitted that the member abused R. Kelly, adding that he suspected he enjoyed the abuse. "I think it affected him in more ways than we all know," said Carey.
Jim DeRogatis, the author of 'Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly' said there was a possibility that sexual abuse faced by the singer in his early years turned him into an abuser later on. "Often the victim becomes the defender of other victims. Most often. And occasionally, the victim becomes a victimizer. Is that what happened with Kelly?" he said.
‘Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning’ airs across three nights, beginning January 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.