Documentary
NY Times
Timeline
On January 3rd, Lifetime came out with the 6-part Docu-Series about the many different accusations
regarding R. Kelly’s sexual misconducts and abuse. The Series features different testimonies victims
of his abuse and critics of R. Kelly including the founder of the #MeToo movement and John Legend.
The series reveals the different counts of his sexual misconduct including his marriage to a 15 year old
girl, a sex tape with a 14 year old girl, his alleged participation in a sex cult, and many more cases of
abuse. R. Kelly has denied all allegations towards him, and while he has gone to trial for the alleged
sex tape with a minor, Kelly has not face any consequences. A large factor in the documentary is that
the victims were black women, so when they spoke about their stories nobody believed them or cared
for the most part. R. Kelly has continued to perform and further his music career. In 2017, a Buzzfeed
article was published regarding Kelly’s history of sexual misconduct which started to popularize the
#MuteRKelly. In 2018, Spotify tried to remove all of R. Kelly’s music from their official playlists;
however, with the premiere of the Lifetime series, the amount of streams for Kelly’s music has
increased.
regarding R. Kelly’s sexual misconducts and abuse. The Series features different testimonies victims
of his abuse and critics of R. Kelly including the founder of the #MeToo movement and John Legend.
The series reveals the different counts of his sexual misconduct including his marriage to a 15 year old
girl, a sex tape with a 14 year old girl, his alleged participation in a sex cult, and many more cases of
abuse. R. Kelly has denied all allegations towards him, and while he has gone to trial for the alleged
sex tape with a minor, Kelly has not face any consequences. A large factor in the documentary is that
the victims were black women, so when they spoke about their stories nobody believed them or cared
for the most part. R. Kelly has continued to perform and further his music career. In 2017, a Buzzfeed
article was published regarding Kelly’s history of sexual misconduct which started to popularize the
#MuteRKelly. In 2018, Spotify tried to remove all of R. Kelly’s music from their official playlists;
however, with the premiere of the Lifetime series, the amount of streams for Kelly’s music has
increased.
What do you think should happen to R. Kelly now?
How do you think this documentary will affect today’s society?
With his large amount of fame, why do you think R. Kelly had so many counts of sexual misconduct?
R. Kelly should be properly convicted with no mercy for his fame or money. What he did was horrible and it occurred multiple times, clearly meaning he thinks there will be no repercussions for his actions. Because he's so famous, clearly he thought that the rules didn't apply to him if he ever was caught. He repeatedly did horrible things and should be given the necessary and proper sentence to pay for his actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brooke. R. Kelly's multiple sexual misconducts shows that he won't change. I honestly don't think he will face any charges because he is famous and the women he assaulted are of racial minority. R. Kelly obviously thought his fame would cover the fact he did these horrible things to underage girls and that he would get away with it. Sadly, he most likely will get away with it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I believe R Kelly should be properly convicted for his crimes, I do not think he will receive repercussions from this new docu-series. Even if more people are exposed to the reality of his actions, I don't think he will be prosecuted because of how hard it is to prove sexual assault/rape crimes. However, I do hope that the documentary will inspire more people who have experienced the same pain to come forward. I don't think R Kelly's fame has provoked more accounts of sexual misconduct than others. Counts of misconduct are a result of his own actions, but the allegations are more talked about because he is famous.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is sad that people can come out with these allegation and they can be proven to be right yet they cannot be tried under the criminal justice system. Rather, the public must take action to bring justice. However, being put on trial by the public strips those accused of their rights as defendants. I believe that we should institute more ways under the criminal justice system that sexual assaulters can be tried and convicted to reflect the complexity of circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI believe R Kelly should be convicted for his crimes. He should be judged with an unbias viewpoint; his fame and occupation should not affect the judgement in any way. The documentary has already become fairly popular due to its content being very relevant to today's times and the fact that R Kelly is a famous figure. However, I am unsure of just how much impact it will have on the topic of sexual assault. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that it could be relatively ignored for the long run in terms of progress on taking sexual assault allegations seriously. In other words, R Kelly's case may become dragged out as Bill Cosby's case was. However, in general, R Kelly should pay the sentence for his misconduct and disgusting actions.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to your second question, R Kelly's fame probably a driving reason why he feels he can get away with sexual misconduct. Celebrities often feel invincible, and above jurisdiction of the public or any other authority. Thankfully during the metoo movement many men in positions of power were held accountable for their actions. However, R Kelly's fan's are simply rallying in support of his music and urging people to separate between the artist and their personal life. If we want to keep making progress in the movement to convict sexual abusers, R Kelly should be held accountable for his crimes against women.
ReplyDeleteI find i interesting that with all these allegations and a whole documentary, R. Kelly is still free and out on the streets. With all these testimonies and witnesses, the police ought to have a motive to prosecute R. Kelly. However, I do feel that the documentary will bring more attention to this issue and hopefully the justice system will finally work in a way that is beneficial to Kelly' victims. It disheartening that his victims still have to see him be famous and making money despite the pain he's inflicted on them. I appreciate that Lifetime decided to do this documentary to give his victims a platform in which they can speak out about their experience. Despite the lack of legal action his victims can take, at least they can advocate for themselves since society still chooses to disregard the monstrosity of Kelly.
ReplyDelete