Jailed R&B singer, R. Kelly, has claimed that he isn’t aware that a group of women were awarded $10.5 million over alleged threats that he attempted to cancel a screening of the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.
TMZ reports that per court records, Kelly revealed he would have fought the lawsuit if he had known that the suit had been filed.
R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30-year sentence after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in 2022, claims he needs his attorneys to explain the legal documents to him because he “cannot read or understand words beyond that of a grade-schooler.”
He would also serve another 20 years behind bars for his conviction of child sex crimes.
R. Kelly, together with Donnell Russell, his then manager, were hit with allegations of threats to silence the six women who shared accounts of their alleged encounters with the R&B singer in the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries.
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Kelly and Russell also allegedly threatened to take legal action against the women, as well as the producers of the docuseries.
In recent court documents, Kelly argued that Russell was never his manager and believes Russell should be held responsible for any legal action if he threatened to stop the screening because “he did that for his own reasons.” The suit eventually led to a one-year sentence being handed to Russel in 2022.
According to CBS News, the singer was charged with three counts of child pornography, as well as three counts of enticing minors for sex.
However, the 55-year-old was acquitted of seven other charges, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy to receive child pornography.
His two co-defendants and former associates, Darrell McDavid and former assistant Milton “June” Brown were acquitted of all charges.
The charges stemmed from the state trial in Chicago, where he was acquitted in 2008. In 2002, Kelly faced 21 counts of making child sexual abuse videos.