R. Kelly is a popular R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the 1990s and produced iconic songs like, “I Believe I Can Fly,” “Ignition,” and “Bump and Grind.” Throughout his career, he has been plagued by accusations of sexual misconduct with underage girls, and yet his career has flourished over the span of thirty years. He has remained a fixture of pop culture and the music industry.
The release of the docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly,” created by executive producers Jesse Daniels and Tamra Simmons, immediately prompted a massive cultural reaction. Following the release of the docuseries, the hashtag “MuteRKelly” was reignited, and several major music stars were forced to reckon with their collaborations with R. Kelly. Artists like Chance the Rapper, Common, Nick Cannon, and Lady Gaga have issued apologies for having worked with R. Kelly in the past, with Lady Gaga going so far as to vow to remove her song with R. Kelly, “Do What U Want,” from streaming services.
In the docuseries, Daniels and Simmons walk a delicate balance of both focusing their attention on the victims of R. Kelly’s alleged abuse as well as weaving a complete picture that includes how he’s seen by those closest to him. By including input from family members as well as his former personal assistant and former bodyguard, the series comes as close as possible to showing R. Kelly’s life to viewers. The series makes no attempts to excuse R. Kelly’s alleged behavior and allows the interviewees to speak for themselves with little input from the team behind the camera.
Impressively, the series manages to document all of the allegations against him through time jumps, highlighting what stages of his career he was in during the alleged abuse. Whether he was on tour, or just released a popular song that was blowing up the music charts, the series shows how R. Kelly was allegedly abusing and exploiting teenage girls the entire time.
The series begins and ends all six of the forty-five to fifty minute episodes with a disclaimer, saying that R. Kelly denies all accusations of sexual misconduct with underage girls.
In the first episode, filmmakers focus on R. Kelly’s early life with his older and younger brothers to depict how they saw him during his youth. They both describe him as a meek child who struggled in school and found an escape through music. Early in the episode, it is revealed that R. Kelly was molested as a child by an unnamed member of his own family. A clinical psychologist then explains the cycle of child sexual abuse. This is a tactic filmmakers use repeatedly throughout the docuseries to explain some of the psychological reasonings behind both R. Kelly’s behavior as well as the how his behaviors influenced his alleged victims. The docuseries then shifts to R. Kelly’s relationship with Aaliyah, a young R&B singer who R. Kelly married when she was fifteen and he was twenty-seven. The series touches on the long-standing culture in the music industry of sexualizing teenage girls. Elvis Presley was publicly known for his affinity for underage girls, and he famously began dating his wife, Priscilla Presley, when she was fourteen and he was twenty-four. The Beatles even have a song titled “I Saw Her Standing There,” which begins with the line “she was just seventeen.”
The series begins with segments of women alleging abuse against him. For the remainder of the series, women discuss how and when R. Kelly abused them, with many women sharing similar stories of abuse. Lisa Van Allen, who met R. Kelly when she was 17, claims that R. Kelly wouldn’t allow her to speak to people when she was at his house and made her call him “daddy,” even during sex. Another victim, Jerhonda Pace, met R. Kelly when she was fourteen at his trial for child pornography, where she was showcasing her support for him. Pace’s relationship with R. Kelly began a year after his trial when she was sixteen. Pace alleges that she was also forced to call R. Kelly “daddy” and that when she would stay at his house, he would separate her from everyone else.
The docuseries has no voiceover. When filmakers want to portray the passage of time or give clarifying information they do so by having text across a black screen. An effective aspect of the docu-series is the way it introduces ideas by using the voices of the interviewees themselves. For example, Craig Williams, R. Kelly’s music producer, claims that, “if it were white children that were being molested by a black man in this case, I’m sure Rob would have gone to jail very swiftly.” Without directly stating this themselves, the filmmakers clearly make this point: because the victims were black, no one interceded.
The series successfully weaves in how few were publically fazed by the allegations against R. Kelly. Stars continued to work with him and even casual reference the allegations against him. In a comedic skit, Dave Chapelle made fun of the sex tape where R. Kelly allegedly urinates in an underaged girls mouth. Journalist Jamilah Lemieux said, “the accusations are now a part of pop culture as much as he is.”
In another scene, Andrea Kelly, who also accused R. Kelly of abuse, contemplates how he is able to maintain the lifestyle he has, noting that she knew nothing about his abuse of girls. She concludes it is possible because he has people helping him, whether it be picking girls up from the airport or providing R. Kelly’s contact information to girls who interest him. This is supported by many of the victims, who claim that they were contacted by a third party to initiate the relationship with R. Kelly. Demetrius Smith, R Kelly’s former personal assistant, even admits that he had papers forged for R. Kelly and Aaliyah when they were illegally married.
“Surviving R. Kelly” is an emotional and painful documentary to witness. It would be difficult to watch and not empathize with these women who claim that such atrocities were commited against them. The series has sparked discourse and public discussion. CNN even claims that the District Attorney of Fulton County Georgia is preparing to launch an investigation into R. Kelly.
CNN has claimed that a new video has surfaced that appears to show R. Kelly recently engaging in sex acts with a fourteen year old girl. While there are still those that defend R. Kelly, the docuseries brought allegations against him into the public eye and told a story that is hard to forget.
