In the latest in a string of allegations of sexual misconduct against young women, American singer R Kelly has been accused of abusing a woman since she was 14 years old, according to a BBC Three documentary entitled R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes.
The claim comes from Kelly's former girlfriend, Kitti Jones, who dated the musician for two years, beginning in 2011. Jones, who admits to being "groomed" herself, says that she and others were forced to have sex with Kelly, at least 10 times, in a "sex dungeon". She also asserted that the 51-year-old "trained" a girl from the age of 14 to be one of his "pets".
Speaking to BBC Three's Ben Zand, 34-year-old Jones said "I was introduced to one of the girls, that he told me he ‘trained’ since she was 14, those were his words. I saw that she was dressed like me, that she was saying the things I’d say and her mannerisms were like mine. That’s when it clicked in my head that he had been grooming me to become one of his pets. He calls them his pets."
Jones went on to allege that on one occasion Kelly had the unnamed woman "crawl on the floor towards me and perform oral sex on me, and he said, 'this is my f**king pet, I trained her. She’s going to teach you how to be with me'."
"[R Kelly was] very abusive, physically, mentally, verbally," she added. "I think he gets some sort of satisfaction within himself, knowing that he’s taking control over other people."
Studio engineer James Lee, who worked on Kelly's fifth album, TP2, also stepped forward to claim that the artist would pick up what he referred to as "chicks" from McDonald's and that he penned one of his chart hits by using girls in lingerie for inspiration. "I came into studio one night and while I’m there, he had two girls in their underwear standing at the front of console bent over while he’s back."
Speaking generally about the singer's attitude to women, Lee claimed that they were largely disposable: "They were there for one thing, to service Rob and when he was tired of you, you’re a big mac, when he’s done eating you, he throws the wrapper away".
BBC Three then contacted Kelly's ex-business manager of 14 years, Rocky Bivens, who alleged, for the first time, that the purported wedding between a 27-year-old R Kelly and a 15-year-old Aaliyah did, in fact, take place. While reluctant to discuss the topic at first, Bivans ultimately claimed that he was present at the 1994 ceremony.
Lovell Jones, one of Kelly's backing singers, asserted that it was difficult for women to turn down the artist's advances: "How do you defend yourself against someone who’s been ‘honing their skills as a predator for 25 years’, who’s also a multi-millionaire, and one of the most successful artists in the music industry? There’s no defence for that."
R Kelly was contacted about the issues raised in the documentary, however, his representatives said that he would make no comment. Kelly has previously denied all accusations of sexual impropriety and violence against women.
In July of 2017, an investigation for BuzzFeed News saw Kitti Jones and three other women speak out against Kelly. They accused the singer of "brainwashing" them into a "cult"-like setup, wherein he would forcibly have sex with them, as well as control how they dress, and when they could use the bathroom and their smartphones.
In 2008, R Kelly was found not guilty of child pornography charges after he was accused of photographing and filming sexual encounters with a 14-year-old girl.
The full documentary can be viewed on BBC Three.