• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · News

An R. Kelly Accuser Says He Made His Victims Write Blackmail Letters to Protect Himself From Sexual Assault Charges

R. Kelly allegedly planned for the letters to serve as fraudulent evidence that would prove his innocence and that his victims conspired against him.
An R. Kelly Accuser Says He Made His Victims Write Blackmail Letters to Protect Himself From Sexual Assault Charges
Photo by Antonio Perez – Pool via Getty Images
By Ashlee Banks · Updated August 31, 2021

Day eight of the R. Kelly trial continued in federal court Monday. The day’s proceedings included testimony from a male accuser who said Kelly abused him when he was a 17-year-old high school student.

The witness, testifying using the pseudonym “Louis,” said Kelly lured him to his home in 2007 with promises to help him jumpstart his music career. Once there, Kelly allegedly asked the victim if he ever fantasized about having sex with men. He described how Kelly “proceeded to give me oral sex,” even though, “I wasn’t into it,” USA Today reports.

This testimony follows revelations last week that Kelly allegedly forced a young woman and many of his victims to construct fraudulent blackmail letters that he would use if he was ever charged with sexually abusing them, The Associated Press reported.  

The 23-year-old accuser, identifying as “Jane Doe,” stated the singer made her write a letter discussing what she would do if Kelly tried to break up with her. He forced her to write, “I’m going to tell everyone you raped me…I’m going to say you raped me since I was a minor.”

She also stated that the letter included a portion where he made her say, “she would spank herself really hard” and accuse him of physically abusing her.

While testifying, the accuser was met with opposition by Kelly’s defense who stated the letters weren’t orchestrated by the singer, but were instead a scheme devised by her parents who were looking to capitalize off of Kelly’s fame.

In 2015, the accuser and Kelly began engaging with one another, when the accuser was a 17-year-old girl with aspirations of becoming a singer.

She said while she was a teen, the singer groomed her and forced her to have sex with another adult male, USA Today reported.

Aside from writing blackmail letters, Kelly also demanded the woman defend him in public, in order to prevent his image from being tarnished further.

In 2019, the accuser was living with Kelly and another woman at the Trump Tower condo in Chicago. He made her and his other live-in girlfriend practice potential interview questions that they may be asked by members of the media.

While taking the stand on Wednesday, she admitted that during an interview with Gayle King she had not answered questions honestly because Kelly was listening and she was fearful of the consequences.

Earlier Monday, a woman testified that Kelly sexually assaulted her when she was 17 after a Miami concert in 1994. Like “Louis,” the woman testified about uncharged crimes, which prosecutors hope will show Kelly’s “pattern” of criminal behavior with multiple victims beyond the six complaining witnesses.

According to USA Today, Kelly is also accused of knowingly infecting some victims with a sexually transmitted disease, bribery, kidnapping, forced labor and producing child pornography.

He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

TOPICS:  r. kelly
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now