American R&B artist R. Kelly is reportedly under criminal investigation by Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney’s Office over allegations made against the singer-songwriter in a recently aired LifeTime docu-series.
According to TMZ, investigators have recently begun to reach out to various women featured on the series. One of these women is Asante McGee, who was doxxed earlier this week by fans of Kelly, who created a public Facebook page to discredit her claims and those of other women.
LifeTime Network’s three-part series, “Surviving R. Kelly,” touches on a variety of allegations made against Kelly, dating back to the musician’s alleged interaction with underage girls, including his marriage to then 15-year-old artist Aaliyah.
The series, which spanned from Thursday to Saturday, also covers his 2002 indictment on child pornography charges, along with more recent allegations that he’s coerced underage girls to live with him, ultimately forcing them to cut off all communication with relatives.
Facebook later indicated that the Facebook page, dubbed “Surviving Lies,” was removed for its violation of the social media giant’s community standards. “We do not tolerate bullying or sharing others’ private contact information and take action on content that violates our policies as soon as we’re aware,” an official told TMZ.
Gerald Griggs, an Atlanta-based lawyer representing the family of Joycelyn Savage, an alleged current victim of Kelly’s, told local news station Fox 5 that “very senior members of the DA’s office” have been in contact regarding witness information in the ongoing case. It should be noted that Savage has previously stated that she is not a hostage of Kelly’s.
Per TMZ, said senior members includes the DA’s chief investigator, Cynthia Nwokocha. The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has yet to comment on the investigation.
“Surviving R. Kelly” executive producer Dream Hampton recently told Entertainment Weekly that in researching the allegations surrounding Kelly, the team was looking for “irrefutable evidence.”
“Without leading any of these women, they all had the exact same stories, even if their interactions with R. Kelly were 15 years apart,” Hampton said. “All of them have stories about being physically abused, being videotaped without consent, being denied food or bathroom privileges as a punishment.”
“All of them have stories about rules that were established early on,” she stressed.
One of the troubling accusations made in the series’ first episode came from former backup singer Jovante Cunningham, who claimed that the singer had sex with an underage girl while others looked on at the pair.
“The first time I witnessed a sexual act in the studio was during the recording of [Kelly’s song] ‘Slow Dance (Remix),'” Cunningham recalled. “He had one of my teenage friends in the booth with him, bent over. We were all right there. I will not say with whom, but I knew she was underage.”
Since the series aired, two prominent radio stations in Dallas, Texas, have announced they will no longer play Kelly’s music, according to Rolling Stone, which noted that the singer’s discography has also been removed from rotation at radio stations in New York City and Los Angeles.
In related news, a police report was filed against Kelly’s manager Don Russell for allegedly threatening Savage’s family over their decision to appear on the docu-series. According to reports, the investigation into Russell is continuing on the grounds of “harassing communications.”
Sourse: sputniknews.com
