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There was a lot going on last week. But the story that seemed to rise to the top of the pile was the fact that R Kelly had been exposed for having a cult of young women living in his various homes throughout the country. This was according to the parents whose daughters they alleged were victims of this behavior.
Most people found the story vile. And, once again, condemned R Kelly for being the sexual deviant that he is.
But director John Singleton stepped forward recently to defend the R&B singer. In an interview with TMZ, Singleton said:
“No, he’s not misunderstood. He has a bunch of girlfriends. A lot of people have a bunch of girlfriends. The women that he’s with are adult women and they’ve made the decision to be with him. They know what they’re getting into so I don’t see what the controversy is about.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=lnmL2vbeJCA
Singleton also acknowledged that Kelly didn’t deserve the Cosby treatment.
Before I get into what made this whole thing problematic, I will say that Singleton is right to some extent. What Bill Cosby did, drugging people and removing even the slightest option of consent, R Kelly is not doing. And yes, the woman are choosing to go with him.
But calling it him having a bunch of girlfriends is not what’s going on here.
A lot of victims who were a part of what were eventually classified as cults, initially agreed to join. They defended their decision to join and the person at the top, very similar to the way the young lady came forward saying she’s enjoying her life, with a little coaching in the background.
The problem comes in with the treatment. Perhaps Singleton doesn’t believe the women who worked and were romantically involved with R Kelly–and that’s an entirely different discussion. But they all admit that the environment is far from healthy. When someone takes your phone, limits contact with your parents, causes you to drop out of school and abandon your friends and family, there is something wrong, something cult-ish about that.
When someone is dictating the types of clothes you wear, videotapping and showing you in the act of sex to other people, there is something wrong with that. And since one of the women described him as a master manipulator, likely the reason he’s involved with these women in their early twenties, while he’s 50, it wouldn’t be such a stretch to imagine that these women have been brainwashed. It’s not a stretch to assume they’re defending him so vehemently because they’re identifying with their abuser.
Just because R Kelly stopped going public with his “teenage friends” doesn’t mean that these are just normal, albeit polygamous relationships.
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