One of R. Kelly's defense lawyers, who was accused of trying to discredit his client's accusers in the recent sex abuse trial, has said that he stands by his strategy.
On September 27, the 'I Believe I Can Fly' singer was found guilty of one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating a law prohibiting the transportation of people across state lines for sexual purposes.
Eleven of his accusers - nine women and two men - testified against him during a six-week trial.
Now, in an interview with Insider, one of Kelly's lawyers maintained his support for the singer's claim that all of his sexual relationships were entirely consensual.
Lawyer Deveraux Cannick insisted: "These people were in relationships with him. And whatever you may have thought of that relationship, this was a relationship that they bought into, they consented, and these were long-standing relationships. I don't even think it was a #MeToo issue."
Cannick also told the outlet that throughout the trial, his aim was to show the jury that the accusers were not credible.
He even argued that the disgraced singer was being targeted due to the scrutiny he received after Lifetime's damning documentary series Surviving R. Kelly aired.
At certain points, Judge Ann Donnelly, who presided over the high-profile case, had to stop Cannick while he was questioning the accusers, many of whom featured in the series.
Cannick tried to discredit one witness who said she had been in a sexually abusive relationship with Kelly for nine months, by telling the court that she was nothing more than a "groupie".
The attorney also claimed that the parents of another witness encouraged her to pursue Kelly.
A number of the accusers said they were teenagers when they met the R&B singer and had been misled into believing that he would help the burgeoning performers with their respective music careers.
Gloria Allred, who represented three of the witnesses in the trial, told reporters after Kelly was convicted that the singer exploited his fame and power to harm his victims, which made him "the worst" sexual predator she has ever encountered.
"First, he used the power of a celebrity to recruit vulnerable underage girls for the purpose of sexually abusing them," Allred said. "Second he used the power of his business enterprise, and many of his inner circle employees, to assist him and enable him in his plan."