All language subtitles for Surviving R. Kelly - 01x06 - Black Girls Matter.TBS.English.HI.C.orig.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. ♪