Lady Gaga To Cut Off Ties With R Kelly
Lady Gaga has apologised for working with embattled R&B
star R Kelly, and vowed to remove their duet, Do What U Want, from streaming
services.
It comes after the broadcast of a new documentary about
Kelly, which detailed allegations of sexual and physical abuse against women
and underage girls, spanning several decades.
Gaga called the stories "horrifying" and
"indefensible", adding: "I stand behind these women 1000%".
Kelly has denied all the allegations.
His lawyer also dismissed the documentary as "another
round of stories" being used to "fill reality TV time".
But film-maker Dream Hampton said the film depicted how
Kelly had "built an ecosystem around his predation", after almost
three decades of "preying on young and vulnerable women".
Gaga had been under pressure to comment on the allegations
against Kelly ever since she collaborated with him on 2013's Do What U Want
(With My Body).
The song was controversial from the outset. Stories about
Kelly's personal life had already been widely reported and, in 2008, he stood
trial on charges of making a sex tape with an under-age female. He was found
not guilty.
At a press conference in Japan in 2013, Gaga defended
the collaboration, saying: "R Kelly and I have sometimes had very untrue
things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us."
But calls for her to condemn Kelly resurfaced last week,
after it emerged she had allegedly declined to be interviewed for the Lifetime
documentary.
The star, who is a vocal advocate for victims of sexual
abuse, broke her silence on 10 January by posting a long statement on
social media.
"I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know
they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be
heard and taken seriously," she wrote.
"As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the
song and the video at a dark time in my life.
"My intention was to create something extremely defiant
and provocative because I was angry and still hadn't processed the trauma that
had occurred in my own life. The song is called Do What U Want (With My Body),
I think it's clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time.
"If I could go back and have a talk with my younger
self I'd tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could
understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in - or if therapy was
not available to me or anyone in my situation - to seek help, and speak as
openly and honestly as possible about what we've been through."
She concluded: "I'm sorry, both my for my poor judgement
when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner".
Gaga is not the only celebrity to distance herself from
Kelly.
Chance The Rapper issued a statement on Sunday, apologising
for collaborating with the singer on the 2015 track Somewhere in Paradise.
"Any of us who ever ignored the R Kelly stories, or
ever believed he was being set up/attacked by the system (as black men often
are) were doing so at the detriment of black women and girls," he
wrote.
"I apologise to all of his survivors for working with
him and for taking this long to speak out."
Rappers Meek Mill and 6lack and actresses Jada Pinkett Smith
and Kerry Washington also criticised the star while John Legend, one of the few
celebrities to appear in the film, said the decision to take part had been an
easy one.
"It didn't feel risky at all," tweeted Legend.
"I believe these women."
The series is due to be broadcast in the UK on Crime
And Investigation UK, from Tuesday, 5 February.
Meanwhile, the documentary has prompted fresh investigations
into R Kelly in Chicago and Atlanta.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Chicago state attorney
Kimberly Foxx urged anyone with information to come forward.
"There's nothing that can be done to investigate these
allegations without the cooperation of both victims and witnesses. We cannot
seek justice without you."
Foxx called Surviving R Kelly "deeply, deeply
disturbing," adding that after the series aired, she had received calls
from two families concerned about their interactions with Kelly.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing the parents of Joycelyn
Savage, who appeared in the documentary, said investigators in Atlanta had
contacted them on Monday.
Kelly has vigorously denied any claims against him, even
releasing a song where he sings: "I'm so falsely accused".
The 52-year-old appeared to shrug off the mounting pressure
on him on Wednesday, with an unscheduled performance at Chicago's V75
nightclub.
While there, Kelly was surrounded by fans singing along to
his music. At one point he announced: "It's my [expletive] birthday and I
don't give an [expletive] what's going on."
Meanwhile, Gaga fans have started a campaign to get her to
replace the R Kelly version of Do What U Want with a remix that substitutes him
for Christina Aguilera.
FROM bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts
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