Umm what?!
R. Kelly has two sets of parents accusing him of holding their daughters in a "cult," along with numerous other women, a shocking
Buzzfeed report claims. Apparently, the R&B star has at least six women, all of legal age, staying at his homes in Chicago and Atlanta after offering to help them with their music careers.
It's not exactly an innocent gesture, though.
"He controls 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," journalist Jim DeRogatis alleges in the expose.
DeRogatis interviewed the singer's former associates Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones and Asante McGee, and combed over legal documents to discover the truth. It is believed the women are punished if they don't adhere to Kelly's set of "rules," and he issued them new cell phones and numbers in order to cut off all communication with their families.
"You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom. [Kelly] is a master at mind control. ... He is a puppet master," Mack, who worked for Kelly as a personal assistant, revealed.
"I have not talked to my daughter in more than a year. We've had deaths in the family, birthdays, and I haven't heard from her and she hasn't been here for any of it. I didn't even hear from her on Mother's Day. All I want to do is bring her home," one mother told
Buzzfeed.
The "I Believe I Can Fly" crooner denies all of it.
"We can only wonder why folks would persist in defaming a great artist who loves his fans, works 24/7, and takes care of all of the people in his life. He works hard to become the best person and artist he can be. It is interesting that stories and tales debunked many years ago turn up when his goal is to stop the violence; put down the guns; and embrace peace and love. I suppose that is the price of fame. Like all of us, Mr. Kelly deserves a personal life. Please respect that," Kelly's lawyer Linda Mensch said in a statement.
This is scary!
