Do The Parents Hold Responsibility In The R. Kelly Scandal?

[BLANK_AUDIO] Watching Essence Now. I'm your host Makho Ndlovu and everyone is buzzing about this latest R Kelly scandal. As we mentioned earlier the singer is quote unequivocally denying BuzzFeed's claim that he recruits young women to be a part of a cult. Here is a quick quick recap according to Buzz Feed, several people in Kelly's inner circle confirmed that the singer finds women with dreams of stardom, moves them into his homes in Chicago and Georgia and then controls every aspect of their life. But here's the rub. For a lot of these women, it was their parents who asked R. Kelly to mentor their careers in the first place. A parent named Theresa said she regrets not taking his 2008 acquittal of child pornography more seriously. Quote she says, my thing was I trusted. I have never been in the music industry before, ever. And the fact is he went to court. He was never found guilty, he was acquitted, and we were led to believe that there was no truth in it. Now I got all these people asking about my daughter, my daughter is there telling me all of that, the charges against Kelly were true. Well, how come you didn't tell me that before? Now here to talk about it are two people who know the music industry very well as journalists Please welcome via Skype, Chuck Creekmur, Founder and CEO of All Hip Hop, and Shenequa Golding, Associate Editor for Vibe Magazine. Welcome to Essence Now, hello. Hi. Hi. Thanks for having me. No, the pleasure's ours. Thank you. Now Chuck, let's start with you. As a parent of a young daughter, what do you think about the parent's statement to BuzzFeed about how they trusted R Kelly? I mean, I think it's ridiculous, I mean it's just completely laughable. It makes me smile that there's could even be so stupid and it's not even funny. A few years ago I wrote a story for another publication about this as a parent, I used to have a fatherhood column. And I believe in protecting my daughter at all cost. And I think other parents prioritize other things above their childs well being and so I think that's where the disconnect is. A lot of parents unfortunately put money potentially fame and career In front of their children, in hopes that they can strike gold and R Kelly is a successful, hit maker, with a lot of money.