On Thursday, Lifetime aired Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning, the follow-up to their explosive docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.
Night one of the three-part series left viewers gutted as The Reckoning examined the aftermath of Kelly’s arrest in 2019 and the charges brought against him. The series premiere also featured interviews with survivors, members of Kelly’s team, his brothers and Damon Dash, who opened up about Aaaliyah’s abuse at the hands of the singer.
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Here are five startling details we learned from night one of Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning.
01
Aaliyah Told Dame Dash That R. Kelly Was A ‘Bad Man’
Dame Dash and Aaliyah dated until her death in 2001 but throughout their relationship, the late singer remained tight-lipped about her relationship with R. Kelly. During part one of The Reckoning, Dash explained that she never opened up about the abuse she faced at the hands of Kelly, only revealing that he was a “bad man.”
Dash said that Aaliyah’s death and her feeling about Kelly led him to seek therapy, “She just said he was a bad man, and she left it at that. It made her so uncomfortable that I couldn’t know about it, because it would have made me too uncomfortable not to try to rectify that situation. But I just wouldn’t have been able to tolerate knowing certain things and being in the same room as certain people, unless they’re begging me not to. So I had to get therapy over that.”
“If people would’ve protected Aaliyah, so many other girls wouldn’t have gotten touched,” he added. “Aaliyah was, like, the sacrificial lamb for all that ’cause she didn’t deserve none of that. Good soul. Good girl. And [she] wasn’t even so resentful, like, ‘Let that man live but just keep him away from me.’ That’s all she wanted. She was just happy to be away.”
Dash said that Aaliyah’s death and her feeling about Kelly led him to seek therapy, “She just said he was a bad man, and she left it at that. It made her so uncomfortable that I couldn’t know about it, because it would have made me too uncomfortable not to try to rectify that situation. But I just wouldn’t have been able to tolerate knowing certain things and being in the same room as certain people, unless they’re begging me not to. So I had to get therapy over that.”
“If people would’ve protected Aaliyah, so many other girls wouldn’t have gotten touched,” he added. “Aaliyah was, like, the sacrificial lamb for all that ’cause she didn’t deserve none of that. Good soul. Good girl. And [she] wasn’t even so resentful, like, ‘Let that man live but just keep him away from me.’ That’s all she wanted. She was just happy to be away.”
02
Members Of Kelly’s Team Threatened Survivors
Multiple survivors and participants in Surviving R. Kelly stated they received threats from Kelly’s team after the docuseries aired. Many survivors recalled the night a gun threat shut down the premiere of Surviving R. Kelly and the trauma that followed.
Faith Rogers, who participated in the series and filed a lawsuit against Kelly claiming he gave her an STD in 2018, stated that Kelly’s team repeatedly tried to intimidate her.
Rogers said that the first threat came before the series aired, “My attorney received a letter, and it was already a threatening letter. It had [nude] pictures of me. It said I needed to abandon these heartless efforts of trying to ruin his career. It said he would have ten men that were going to come and talk about my sex life or that they have had sex with me.” After the series aired, Rogers says that she and her family were forced to relocate and install security cameras on their property after receiving multiple threatening texts and phone calls. An associate of Kelly’s also attempted to silence her by threatening to share explicit videos and images. Rogers, who is epileptic, says the stress of the situation resulted in seizures.
Kelly’s team also attempted to silence reporter Jim DeRogatis. DeRogatis, who was at the forefront of reporting Kelly’s sexual abuse, stated that in 2001 someone shot at his porch window. He also recalled receiving a threatening call targeting his six-year-old daughter.
Faith Rogers, who participated in the series and filed a lawsuit against Kelly claiming he gave her an STD in 2018, stated that Kelly’s team repeatedly tried to intimidate her.
Rogers said that the first threat came before the series aired, “My attorney received a letter, and it was already a threatening letter. It had [nude] pictures of me. It said I needed to abandon these heartless efforts of trying to ruin his career. It said he would have ten men that were going to come and talk about my sex life or that they have had sex with me.” After the series aired, Rogers says that she and her family were forced to relocate and install security cameras on their property after receiving multiple threatening texts and phone calls. An associate of Kelly’s also attempted to silence her by threatening to share explicit videos and images. Rogers, who is epileptic, says the stress of the situation resulted in seizures.
Kelly’s team also attempted to silence reporter Jim DeRogatis. DeRogatis, who was at the forefront of reporting Kelly’s sexual abuse, stated that in 2001 someone shot at his porch window. He also recalled receiving a threatening call targeting his six-year-old daughter.
03
Kelly Quietly Reached A Number Of Settlements With Victims
During The Reckoning, DeRogatis explained that Kelly used his star power to reach a number of settlements with victims, calling it a “settlement factory” brokered by attorney Susan Loggans, who would reportedly send women to take lie detector tests if they came forward to accuse Kelly of underage sex. If they passed, Loggans would then reach a settlement and make the women sign NDAs.
“I believe there are more than a dozen of those settlements that we don’t know about because there were not court papers,” DeRogatis said. “Loggans has never given me the number. She has only said ‘numerous,’ with a little bit of a smirk.”
“I believe there are more than a dozen of those settlements that we don’t know about because there were not court papers,” DeRogatis said. “Loggans has never given me the number. She has only said ‘numerous,’ with a little bit of a smirk.”
04
Jive Records Employees Enabled Kelly’s Behavior In Order To Keep Their Jobs
Jimmy Maynes, former SVP Creative at Jive Records, revealed that many people in Kelly’s camp and record label employees played a role in enabling the singer’s abuse.
Maynes detailed one disturbing situation that resulted in him heading to Chicago to attempt to stop the spread of R. Kelly’s infamous sexual abuse tape. “I remember being called to Jive late one night. We were brought into a conference room and they said, ‘Hey guys, we have a problem.’ During the time of the explosive tape, I remember them playing 15 or 20 seconds. At that point, my bosses said, ‘We’ve seen enough.’ There are just some things I think you can’t unsee.”
“In a panic, they said to me and another executive, ‘You guys need to go to Chicago and you guys need to buy up all the tapes you can find.’ And we did.” And, I remember one of my bosses telling me, ‘Jimmy, don’t get caught up, because if Rob goes down, people are going to get fired.’ I was like, ‘Why? It’s not our fault.’ He said, ‘Rob keeps the lights on around here.'”
Maynes said he later confronted Kelly about the tape but the singer just shrugged it off and claimed it was his brother.
Maynes detailed one disturbing situation that resulted in him heading to Chicago to attempt to stop the spread of R. Kelly’s infamous sexual abuse tape. “I remember being called to Jive late one night. We were brought into a conference room and they said, ‘Hey guys, we have a problem.’ During the time of the explosive tape, I remember them playing 15 or 20 seconds. At that point, my bosses said, ‘We’ve seen enough.’ There are just some things I think you can’t unsee.”
“In a panic, they said to me and another executive, ‘You guys need to go to Chicago and you guys need to buy up all the tapes you can find.’ And we did.” And, I remember one of my bosses telling me, ‘Jimmy, don’t get caught up, because if Rob goes down, people are going to get fired.’ I was like, ‘Why? It’s not our fault.’ He said, ‘Rob keeps the lights on around here.'”
Maynes said he later confronted Kelly about the tape but the singer just shrugged it off and claimed it was his brother.
05
R. Kelly’s Brother Says The Singer Once Admitted That He Had A ‘Problem’
R. Kelly’s brother, Bruce Kelly, said that the singer once admitted to a pastor that he had a “problem.”
Bruce stated that he once overheard his brother admitting to a pastor that he suffered from sex addiction and would masturbate to his sex tapes. He added that the singer once filmed him having a threesome without his permission.
R. Kelly’s brother also revealed the sexual abuse the singer suffered as a child, revealing that an older man in his 60s once sexually abused Kelly and later paid their mother $5000 not to show up in court. Kelly also suffered abuse at the hands of a female family member.
Bruce stated that he once overheard his brother admitting to a pastor that he suffered from sex addiction and would masturbate to his sex tapes. He added that the singer once filmed him having a threesome without his permission.
R. Kelly’s brother also revealed the sexual abuse the singer suffered as a child, revealing that an older man in his 60s once sexually abused Kelly and later paid their mother $5000 not to show up in court. Kelly also suffered abuse at the hands of a female family member.
