After two more women came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against the singer, a woman named Katie Thompson sent an email on behalf of R. Kelly Tours defending Kelly.
- May 8, 2018
AceShowbiz - R. Kelly's management team is distancing the R&B singer from a statement expressing his "heartbreak" over sexual misconduct allegations, insisting he had nothing to do with it.
The "I Believe I Can Fly" hitmaker has been at the centre of underage sex allegations for years, and was acquitted on child pornography charges in 2008. Last year, he also faced accusations of running a "sex cult" by the families of two women and several former associates, who claimed he manipulated young ladies into becoming his sex pets.
He vehemently denied the accusations at the time, but came under scrutiny again in March after a former girlfriend appeared in a BBC documentary examining his sex scandals, and claimed he had admitted to grooming a 14-year-old girl - allegations the 51-year-old singer also dismissed.
On Friday, May 4, two more women came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Kelly in a new BuzzFeed News expose and he supposedly addressed the "heartbreaking" accusations in a subsequent statement in an email sent by Katie Thompson on behalf of R. Kelly Tours.
According to The Associated Press, the singer described himself as "a God-fearing man, a son, a brother, and most importantly a father" in the press release, insisting he had fallen victim to vicious reporters who have "dissected and manipulated these false allegations."
He also went on to claim the sexual misconduct allegations are "perpetuated by the media" in an "attempt to distort my character and to destroy my legacy that I have worked so hard to build."
However, the singer's management team is now denouncing the statement, explaining it was unauthorized.
"The person who released the statement did so without authorization and without talking to the star, and she isn't an employee of R. Kelly management," a statement from his management team reads. "The singer and his manager had no idea of who she was. We have learned she was employed by a professional services firm, and that she has been fired for putting out the unauthorized statement.
"Mr. Kelly rejects the points the statement tries to make, and we deny all association with it. We are looking into what went wrong here".
