In 2002, a video that reportedly featured R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl was given to Illinois authorities. Although he was charged with 21 counts, including several counts of child pornography, Biography reports that the alleged victim refused to testify, and Kelly was ultimately found not guilty. Kelly faced similar charges in Florida in 2003. However, those charges were later dismissed.
As reported by CNN, Kelly was served with another civil lawsuit in 2002, which was filed by a woman named Patrice Jones. According to the lawsuit, Kelly had sexual relations with Jones when she was 16 years old. When Jones got pregnant, Kelly allegedly forced her to terminate the pregnancy. Like the others, the lawsuit was settled out of court, and the details of the settlement were never disclosed.
In July 2017, BuzzFeed published an article alleging Kelly was holding six women against their will in what was described as a cult-like atmosphere. According to the article, Kelly had complete control over “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.”
Despite the allegations and rumors about Kelly’s sexual exploitation of underage girls, his career did not falter. Between 2009 and 2017, Kelly had three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (via Time). He also performed at the 2010 World Cup, the 2011 Grammys, and the 2013 Coachella festival.
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