A lawyer forR. Kellyhas stated that the R&B singer strongly denies thestring of sexual abuse allegationsthat have resurfaced as a result of the recent Lifetime docuseriesSurviving R. Kelly.
In aninterview with the Associated Presson Friday, Chicago-based attorney Steve Greenberg called the documentary “disgusting” and claimed that producers told “disgruntled” women incriminating things to say about Kelly off camera in an effort to incriminate the Grammy winner.
“Some producer went running around and solicited all these people, did a Jerry Springer-esque show and there is all this uproar,” Greenberg said in the taped interview.
Surviving R.Kelly— which aired on Lifetime from Thursday, Jan. 3 to Saturday, Jan. 5 — features wide-ranging interviewswith Kelly’s family members, former friends and colleagues, but most notably, women who claim that for decades the hit-making singer and producer used his power and influence to sexually and physically abuse them and others.
However, Greenberg insists that these statements are false. “The allegations aren’t true because he never knowingly had sex with an underage woman,” he continued in the AP interview. “He never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone.”
Producers for the program responded to Greenberg’s claims in a statement to PEOPLE, saying: “We are enormously proud of the series. The powerful stories from the women in the documentary speak for themselves. Their honesty and candor has resonated with millions of viewers.”
Greenberg also criticized Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for speaking out on the matter when she held apress conferenceon Tuesday to encourage any victims to “please come forward.” According to Greenberg, Foxx’s call “invites wrongful accusations.”
Greenberg denied PEOPLE’s request for further comment.
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To date, no charges have been brought in Kelly’s part-time residence of Chicago. But theNew York Timesreported on Tuesday that investigators from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Georgia contacted Gerald A. Griggs, the lawyer for Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage. The parents claim that the singer is holding their daughter, Joycelyn Savage, against her will. Timothy and Jonjelyn were interviewed in the docuseries, along withnumerous other women.
“We hope that it will turn into a fruitful investigation and it will result in the return of Joycelyn Savage to her family or, at the very least, that she start opening continuous conversations and interactions with her family like she had before she met Mr. Robert Sylvester Kelly,” Griggs told PEOPLE on Wednesday.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has declined PEOPLE’s request to comment, as did the Atlanta and John’s Creek police departments.
R. Kelly.Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
TMZalso reported that the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into the allegations made in the docu-series, adding that investigators reached out toAsante McGee, who spoke to PEOPLE about her experience escaping from Kelly’s residence.
During her press conference on Tuesday, Foxx stated that her office was talking to two families whose loved ones had been in contact with Kelly.
In 2008, a Cook County jury found Kellynot guiltyon 14 counts of child pornography charges.
If you or someone you know think they are being abused, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) now for anonymous, confidential help, available 24/7.
source: people.com
