After some of Hollywood’s most powerful women came forward to join the #MuteRKelly campaign, the heat has steadily increased on the singer.
Recently, both Buzzfeed and The Washington Post ran two investigative reports that revealed startling new details about the sexual misconduct allegations against Kelly, and now two of his accusers have come forward to tell their story on television for the very first time.
This morning, Asante McGee and Kitti Jones shared their experiences on Megyn Kelly TODAY and said the singer controlled nearly every aspect of their lives.
McGee, who dated R. Kelly from 2014 to 2016 and lived in his home for a month, said all of Kelly’s women had to ask for permission for everything, even to use the bathroom.
“You would have to send a text message to one of his runners just asking if you can go to the restroom and then they will relay the information to him because you weren’t free to walk around the house,” she said.
Jones, who said she spent two years in R. Kelly’s Atlanta home — the same home he allegedly used to run a “sex cult,” according to last year’s Buzzfeed report — said the women were “required to call him Daddy” and “would get in trouble if you didn’t.”
In addition to McGee and Jones, Megyn Kelly also spoke with Tim and Jonjelyn Savage, who accused R. Kelly of brainwashing their daughter, Joycelyn, and holding her against her will. Though Joycelyn has come out to dispute her parents’ claims, her father still believes the 22-year-old is “being controlled” by the singer.
R. Kelly has been accused of sexual misconduct for over twenty years, but he has continued to deny the allegations. After the Women of Color of Time’s Up shared their support for the #MuteRKelly campaign, the singer called their open letter a “public lynching.”
“We fully support the rights of women to be empowered to make their own choices. Time’s Up has neglected to speak with any of the women who welcome R. Kelly’s support, and it has rushed to judgment without the facts,” the statement read.
“Since America was born, black men and women have been lynched for having sex or for being accused of it,” it continued. “We will vigorously resist this attempted public lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture.”