Report Alleges That R. Kelly Is Holding Women in an Abusive Cult

Today, Buzzfeed News reports that a number of parents have told police that R&B singer R. Kelly has been holding their daughters ‘against their will’ in homes in Chicago and Atlanta. Three women who were formerly part of Kelly’s camp have also provided evidence that suggests this is the case:

Three former members of Kelly’s inner circle—Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee— provided details supporting the parents’ worst fears. They said 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.

The shocking allegations are the latest in a long line against Kelly, who was cleared of child pornography charges in 2008. This extensive report was written by Chicago journalist Jim DeRogatis, who has been reporting on Kelly’s long history of alleged sexual misconduct for a number of years. A number of sources appear to corroborate Kelly’s treatment of the women, stating that he “films his sexual activities […] and shows the videos to men in his circle,” and prevents the women, most of whom are aspiring singers (and came into contact with him via the music industry), from contacting friends and family, replacing their own cell phones with others given to them by him. They also allege physical abuse.

Other than Kelly’s lawyer Linda Mensch who is quoted in the Buzzfeed piece, there has been no official comment from his team so far.

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