R. Kelly Accused of Retaliation, Threats Against Alleged Victim Following STD Lawsuit
Faith Rodgers, one of R. Kelly’s alleged victims, claims that Kelly threatened her with retaliation for filing a lawsuit last year against him alleging that he abused her and knowingly infected her with a sexually transmitted disease. In a press conference today streamed via various news outlets, Rodgers and attorney Gloria Allred said that after the suit was filed last spring, Kelly sent Rodgers a letter “threatening to reveal what he alleges are details of her sex life,” and threatened to make public private text messages and photos. They claim that information included in the alleged letter later appeared on a Facebook page called “Surviving Lies” dedicated to contradicting claims of sexual abuse that have been made against the singer. (The Facebook page was taken down after less than a day, for violating the social network's Community Standards.) Rodgers' mother also said in the press conference that she had received threats from Kelly.
Allred said that Kelly was “taking his playbook from Donald Trump” in threatening to sue everyone who has come forward with claims against him. She also compared Kelly to Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein.
Earlier this month, Dallas police declined to press charges against Kelly in the Rodgers case, as TMZ reports. In today's press conference, Allred said that they have an appointment with the New York Police Department to discuss pursuing criminal charges.
Rogders originally filed a complaint with the Dallas Police Department in April 2018, claiming that Kelly mentally, physically, and sexually abused her during an eight-month relationship that began in 2017 when she was 19 years old. At the time, a representative for R. Kelly told The Washington Post that the singer “categorically denies all claims and allegations” related to the claim.
Rodgers was one of many women who participated in Lifetime's “Surviving R. Kelly” docuseries. Since the airing of the documentary, a prosecutor in Chicago held a press conference encouraging survivors and witnesses with information about Kelly to contact her office in order to initiate an investigation, and an investigation into Kelly has reportedly been opened in Georgia.
On January 11, Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg denied all allegations of sexual misconduct made in “Surviving R. Kelly.”
Read “The Struggle to Silence R. Kelly” and “Why the Mainstream Music Industry Is Still Struggling to Address #MeToo” on the Pitch.
