R&B singer R. Kelly is holding at least six women at two of his properties in an abusive, sexual cult, say three women who used live with him.
The women — Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee — spoke out to BuzzFeed to describe the abuse.
The women were reportedly formerly part of Kelly’s inner circle, and they say he controls every part of the women’s lives, including what they eat and wear, when they sleep and bathe, and even their sexual encounters, which they say he records.
BuzzFeed also interviewed the mother of an unidentified 19-year-old aspiring singer who moved in with Kelly and has cut off all contact with her family. The mother, identified as J., told the website she hasn’t seen her daughter since December 2016 and that she “looked like a prisoner.” The teen said she was in love with Kelly and has only contacted her parents twice via text since December.
Kelly allegedly buys phones for the women and institutes rules about who they can call, which usually doesn’t include parents and family members, BuzzFeed reported. The women reportedly live with Kelly at his Duluth, Georgia, “guest house” or his Chicago recording studio.
Mack worked for Kelly as an assistant and is still in touch with some of his inner circle, she said.
“You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom,” she told BuzzFeed. “[Kelly] is a master at mind control. ... He is a puppet master.”
Police checks so far have found the girls denying anything is wrong, and no laws appear to have been violated, Billboard reported.
The singer "unequivocally denies" the allegations.
"Mr. Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed by the recent revelations attributed to him," Kelly's lawyer, Linda Mensch, told BuzzFeed News. "Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such accusations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name."
Twitter users lashed out against the singer and wondered why anyone still listened to R. Kelly's music.
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