From the moment I began seeing lengthy investigations into R. Kelly’s history as a alleged sexual predator, I knew, that as a black woman,…
From the moment I began seeing lengthy investigations into R. Kelly’s history as a alleged sexual predator, I knew, that as a black woman, this wasn’t something I could ignore. Over the next year and half, creating the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” was a major part of my life. These women were telling their stories, and no one in authority was listening. Nothing was happening.
Thankfully, it appears that “Surviving R. Kelly” is not the end of the story. On Friday, he was arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and there are calls once again for streaming services to remove his music.
This is a long time coming. As we began talking about creating this documentary, my friend Jesse Daniels and I decided to reach out to one of the families warning us about R. Kelly, the Savages, just to learn more. Once I met with them, I was blown away by the extent to which their daughter was caught in R. Kelly’s web.
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From there, we talked to another family, then one survivor, then another, and another. Eventually, we found Lifetime was the right home to help us tell the story of these women and families and our showrunner and executive producer, dream hampton, came aboard.
According to Chicago police, Friday’s indictment lists four victims and alleged sexual assaults dating back to 1998.
