Through his attorney Steve Greenberg, singer R. Kelly denied all allegations of sexual misconduct involving multiple women and underage girls in the last two and a half decades on Friday.
Kelly, 52, has faced numerous sexual assault allegations since 1994, when he reportedly married the late R&B singer Aaliyah — something that he denied even after having the marriage annulled. Aaliyah was only 15 years old at the time. He was 27. Greenberg has since confirmed the marriage.
A six-part Lifetime docuseries entitled Surviving R. Kelly, aired in January with the intent to expose the countless allegations of predatory tendencies and sexual misconduct levelled against the singer.
The show concluded on Jan. 5 and featured more than 50 interviews, including revealing quotes from former collaborators and victims of Kelly’s alleged sex crimes.
READ MORE: ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ ends, but reveals more details of alleged sex abuse by singer
Greenberg claimed that the women who came forward in Surviving R. Kelly lied about their accusations on the count that they never presented evidence to the authorities.
“The allegations aren’t true because he never knowingly had sex with an underage woman,” claimed the attorney in a statement to The Associated Press.
WATCH: R. Kelly accuser says she wanted to ‘speak her truth’
“He never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone,” alleged Greenberg.
He then admitted he didn’t know the details about most of the allegations, claiming that many young women had “come on to” Kelly with hopes of kickstarting their own music careers.
READ MORE: Authorities ask R. Kelly sex-abuse accusers, witnesses to come forward
Greenberg further admitted that neither he nor Kelly had watched what he refers to as the “disgusting” exposé.
WATCH: People protest R. Kelly in Chicago after documentary
In defence of his client, Greenberg heavily insinuated that many of the women who came forward to speak out against Kelly were not authentic and had never actually met the singer and were just trying to make money or imprison him.
He followed up by questioning why some of the alleged victims didn’t come forward anytime sooner, especially after the discovery of a sex tape that surfaced in 2002 of a man purpoted to be Kelly engaging in sexual activities with an underage girl.
The attorney claimed it was all a matter of timing, specifically after the #MuteRKelly campaign and the #MeToo movement.
READ MORE: R. Kelly sexual abuse accusers come forward in Lifetime doc ‘Surviving R. Kelly’
After reportedly threatening to file a lawsuit against Lifetime, Kelly attempted to launch a website discrediting the documentary accusers.
He successfully created a Facebook page, but it was taken down almost immediately. He has still not taken action against Hampton or Lifetime.
As of this writing, Kelly has not been charged or convicted of any of the recent allegations of sexual misconduct.
The authorities are still asking victims of Kelly’s alleged sex crimes to file complaints against the singer so they can investigate.
— With files from The Associated Press
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