1 00:00:15,890 --> 00:00:17,434 ASANTE: I would definitely characterize myself 2 00:00:17,434 --> 00:00:19,185 as a survivor. 3 00:00:19,185 --> 00:00:22,188 KANIKA: I do see myself as a victim of R. Kelly. 4 00:00:22,188 --> 00:00:23,690 LISA: I was a victim. 5 00:00:23,690 --> 00:00:25,734 JERHONDA: I don't consider myself a victim. 6 00:00:25,734 --> 00:00:27,026 LISA: I am a survivor. 7 00:00:27,026 --> 00:00:28,278 JERHONDA: I lived it 8 00:00:28,278 --> 00:00:30,238 and I survived it. 9 00:00:49,799 --> 00:00:52,552 INTERVIEWER: Why do you want to tell your story now? 10 00:00:52,552 --> 00:00:58,057 I felt like my silence allowed it to continue. 11 00:00:58,057 --> 00:01:00,894 I worked up the courage to come forward and tell my story. 12 00:01:00,894 --> 00:01:03,855 A part of me always felt like maybe I did something 13 00:01:03,855 --> 00:01:05,356 for him to treat me that way. 14 00:01:05,356 --> 00:01:07,025 I want my story to be heard 15 00:01:07,025 --> 00:01:09,736 so people could take this situation seriously. 16 00:01:09,736 --> 00:01:11,988 But when I found out it wasn't just me... 17 00:01:11,988 --> 00:01:13,364 I just don't want it to get any worse. 18 00:01:13,364 --> 00:01:14,741 KANIKA: And it was just... 19 00:01:14,741 --> 00:01:16,826 It just kept going and going and going. 20 00:01:16,826 --> 00:01:18,787 I just wanted to know that it's not... 21 00:01:18,787 --> 00:01:20,872 You know, you're not alone. 22 00:01:20,872 --> 00:01:22,749 They're not alone. 23 00:01:22,749 --> 00:01:24,459 KANIKA: It just made me... 24 00:01:24,459 --> 00:01:26,169 furious. 25 00:01:26,169 --> 00:01:28,463 I decided that enough was enough. 26 00:01:28,463 --> 00:01:31,841 (sighs) 27 00:01:31,841 --> 00:01:34,844 INTERVIEWER: Can you describe 28 00:01:34,844 --> 00:01:36,805 the physical abuse? 29 00:01:41,017 --> 00:01:42,977 (mumbles) 30 00:01:45,980 --> 00:01:47,982 (crying) 31 00:01:53,905 --> 00:01:57,158 I think I can't really talk about being abused. 32 00:01:57,158 --> 00:01:59,160 It's-it's, like... it brings back memories, 33 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,706 and it's, it's very painful to have to talk about it again. 34 00:02:08,545 --> 00:02:11,548 -I'm sorry. -INTERVIEWER: It's okay. 35 00:02:11,548 --> 00:02:13,508 (crying continues) 36 00:02:17,971 --> 00:02:19,973 ♪ ♪ 37 00:02:48,918 --> 00:02:51,337 WOMAN: I met R. Kelly when I was 14. 38 00:02:51,337 --> 00:02:53,047 WOMAN 2: When I met him, I was 17 years old. 39 00:02:53,047 --> 00:02:54,299 WOMAN 3: I wanted to be a singer. 40 00:02:54,299 --> 00:02:55,800 WOMAN 4: I wanted to be a dancer. 41 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,177 WOMAN 5: We thought we were gonna be stars. 42 00:02:58,177 --> 00:03:00,513 MAN: I think my daughter's 43 00:03:00,513 --> 00:03:01,973 going through prison right now. 44 00:03:01,973 --> 00:03:03,725 We got a tip that she's here. 45 00:03:03,725 --> 00:03:05,977 ♪ Oh, say ♪ 46 00:03:05,977 --> 00:03:08,897 ♪ Can you see... ♪ 47 00:03:10,189 --> 00:03:12,191 In the middle of all of these allegations, 48 00:03:12,191 --> 00:03:14,527 R. Kelly's just dropping music. 49 00:03:14,527 --> 00:03:18,072 His songs were a huge part of the soundtrack of our lives. 50 00:03:18,072 --> 00:03:21,618 ♪ I believe I can fly. ♪ 51 00:03:21,618 --> 00:03:22,702 Songs like "Ignition." 52 00:03:22,702 --> 00:03:25,997 ♪ It's the remix to "Ignition" ♪ 53 00:03:25,997 --> 00:03:28,166 ♪ Hot and fresh out the kitchen. ♪ 54 00:03:28,166 --> 00:03:30,001 "I Wish." 55 00:03:30,001 --> 00:03:32,962 ♪ I'll see you again some day ♪ 56 00:03:32,962 --> 00:03:36,883 ♪ I wish, I wish, I wish. ♪ 57 00:03:36,883 --> 00:03:38,217 He had a voice 58 00:03:38,217 --> 00:03:40,178 that was incredible. 59 00:03:40,178 --> 00:03:41,971 LESLIE SEGAR: Women loved the way he looked, 60 00:03:41,971 --> 00:03:42,931 the way he sounded. 61 00:03:42,931 --> 00:03:44,891 KANIKA: People looked at him 62 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:45,934 as the king of R&B. 63 00:03:45,934 --> 00:03:47,727 He was the biggest artist 64 00:03:47,727 --> 00:03:49,562 in the recording industry at that time 65 00:03:49,562 --> 00:03:51,397 in terms of actual record sales. 66 00:03:51,397 --> 00:03:53,650 GEM PRATTS: Robert was working with everyone. 67 00:03:53,650 --> 00:03:55,401 Snoop, Céline Dion, 68 00:03:55,401 --> 00:03:56,986 Michael Jordan, Janet Jackson. 69 00:03:56,986 --> 00:03:58,279 ANN POWERS: He worked with Michael Jackson. 70 00:03:58,279 --> 00:03:59,405 He worked with Jay-Z, 71 00:03:59,405 --> 00:04:01,908 Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga. 72 00:04:01,908 --> 00:04:04,452 R. Kelly was part of that superstar milieu. 73 00:04:06,412 --> 00:04:08,289 WOMAN: He was a hero. 74 00:04:12,377 --> 00:04:14,796 -Robert, how do you feel? -Was it you on the tape? 75 00:04:14,796 --> 00:04:16,297 MIKE JERRICK: R&B superstar 76 00:04:16,297 --> 00:04:18,383 R. Kelly on trial 77 00:04:18,383 --> 00:04:20,051 for allegedly videotaping himself 78 00:04:20,051 --> 00:04:22,345 having sex with an underage girl. 79 00:04:22,345 --> 00:04:26,307 NEWSWOMAN: Jurors found him not guilty on all charges. 80 00:04:27,725 --> 00:04:30,269 R. Kelly has a problem. 81 00:04:32,230 --> 00:04:34,315 The accusations are now part of pop culture. 82 00:04:34,315 --> 00:04:36,442 TOURE: South Park touched on it. 83 00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:38,403 Chappelle's Show touched on it. 84 00:04:38,403 --> 00:04:41,447 After R. Kelly got off trial, 85 00:04:41,447 --> 00:04:43,366 I'd do the interview. 86 00:04:43,366 --> 00:04:44,826 He was very nervous. 87 00:04:44,826 --> 00:04:48,246 Do you like teenage girls? 88 00:04:48,246 --> 00:04:52,542 When you say "teenage," how old are we talking? 89 00:04:52,542 --> 00:04:54,419 This is an industry 90 00:04:54,419 --> 00:04:56,129 where anything goes. 91 00:04:56,129 --> 00:04:57,213 NELSON GEORGE: He's a font of money. 92 00:04:57,213 --> 00:04:58,256 He was like a bad boy, 93 00:04:58,256 --> 00:04:59,632 like an antihero. 94 00:04:59,632 --> 00:05:01,134 MISS INFO: You know that he's dirty, 95 00:05:01,134 --> 00:05:02,927 which is so delusional 96 00:05:02,927 --> 00:05:04,804 for us to kind of feel like, 97 00:05:04,804 --> 00:05:06,055 "Oh, it's all good now." 98 00:05:07,098 --> 00:05:08,683 MAN: R. Kelly has power 99 00:05:08,683 --> 00:05:11,144 over these young girls. 100 00:05:11,144 --> 00:05:12,603 WOMAN: I had to wait for permission 101 00:05:12,603 --> 00:05:14,939 to be able to use the bathroom. 102 00:05:14,939 --> 00:05:16,274 -It's okay. Okay. -(sobbing) 103 00:05:16,274 --> 00:05:18,401 Your dad says he loves you so much. 104 00:05:18,401 --> 00:05:20,403 CRAIG WILLIAMS: What the heck is he doing 105 00:05:20,403 --> 00:05:22,405 hanging around the high school? 106 00:05:22,405 --> 00:05:24,782 R. Kelly believes he can fly 107 00:05:24,782 --> 00:05:26,409 and that he is untouchable. 108 00:05:26,409 --> 00:05:28,369 -PROTESTER: Shame on you! -PROTESTERS: Shame on you! 109 00:05:28,369 --> 00:05:30,371 -Shame on you! -Shame on you! 110 00:05:30,371 --> 00:05:34,334 -Mute R. Kelly! -Mute R. Kelly! 111 00:05:40,298 --> 00:05:44,052 POWERS: His performances were increasingly pornographic. 112 00:05:48,973 --> 00:05:51,017 (indistinct chatter) 113 00:05:51,017 --> 00:05:53,102 -You understand me? -Yes, sir. Yes, sir. 114 00:05:53,102 --> 00:05:55,980 Drop your (bleep), big dog. 115 00:05:55,980 --> 00:05:57,648 That's right. 116 00:05:57,648 --> 00:05:59,984 I am handcuffed, like a lot of you mother(bleep). 117 00:05:59,984 --> 00:06:02,987 I'm handcuffed by my destiny. It's too late. 118 00:06:02,987 --> 00:06:05,531 They should've did this (bleep) 30 years ago. 119 00:06:05,531 --> 00:06:07,575 -It's too late. -Tell 'em, R. 120 00:06:12,163 --> 00:06:14,123 (children chattering) 121 00:06:22,590 --> 00:06:26,135 My family grew up in Altgeld Gardens housing projects. 122 00:06:26,135 --> 00:06:29,597 (children continue chattering) 123 00:06:29,597 --> 00:06:31,974 My name is Carey Kelly, 124 00:06:31,974 --> 00:06:34,894 and I'm R. Kelly's baby brother. 125 00:06:36,938 --> 00:06:39,232 Theresa's the oldest. 126 00:06:39,232 --> 00:06:41,901 Bruce is the second oldest. 127 00:06:41,901 --> 00:06:46,114 Robert, and then myself. 128 00:06:49,158 --> 00:06:51,577 KATHY CHANEY: R. Kelly did face hardships 129 00:06:51,577 --> 00:06:53,579 with his family. 130 00:06:55,498 --> 00:06:58,167 Like many other, you know, households 131 00:06:58,167 --> 00:07:01,379 in the inner city. 132 00:07:01,379 --> 00:07:03,422 You may not know where your next meal was coming from. 133 00:07:03,422 --> 00:07:04,966 People living check to check. 134 00:07:07,385 --> 00:07:11,347 CAREY: Even though we grew up living in the projects, 135 00:07:11,347 --> 00:07:15,810 Robert is not cut from a cloth of being street. 136 00:07:16,894 --> 00:07:20,356 He was mild-mannered, afraid. 137 00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:24,527 He didn't come outside. He stayed 138 00:07:24,527 --> 00:07:27,488 in the house and played with his keyboard. 139 00:07:32,618 --> 00:07:34,954 My name's Bruce Kelly. 140 00:07:34,954 --> 00:07:38,291 In my earliest childhood memories, 141 00:07:38,291 --> 00:07:41,252 Robert was shy and very timid, you know. 142 00:07:41,252 --> 00:07:45,423 If you'd stare at him in his face, he'd start crying. 143 00:07:45,423 --> 00:07:48,551 We would have to urge him on to sing 144 00:07:48,551 --> 00:07:50,178 'cause he was really shy, 145 00:07:50,178 --> 00:07:52,346 and he would sing with his back turned to people 146 00:07:52,346 --> 00:07:55,349 so he wouldn't have to look them in the face. 147 00:07:57,852 --> 00:08:00,313 CAREY: Everybody have a mother. 148 00:08:00,313 --> 00:08:02,315 They have a father. 149 00:08:04,567 --> 00:08:07,445 But our father had-had, you know, just left 150 00:08:07,445 --> 00:08:10,072 and said forget us. 151 00:08:12,116 --> 00:08:16,370 It was a struggle, but we never went hungry. 152 00:08:16,370 --> 00:08:18,372 CHANEY: R. Kelly grew up 153 00:08:18,372 --> 00:08:20,416 in the church. His mother sang in the church. 154 00:08:21,918 --> 00:08:25,129 BRUCE: My mother was the lead singer of the choir. 155 00:08:25,129 --> 00:08:28,507 She would make people catch the spirits, as they call them. 156 00:08:28,507 --> 00:08:31,636 She was a very big fan of Aretha Franklin, 157 00:08:31,636 --> 00:08:34,597 Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan. 158 00:08:34,597 --> 00:08:36,599 When she would do Gladys Knight, 159 00:08:36,599 --> 00:08:39,268 we would be her Pips. 160 00:08:39,268 --> 00:08:41,145 So it just grew. We just, we loved music 161 00:08:41,145 --> 00:08:42,355 just as much as she did. 162 00:08:44,899 --> 00:08:47,526 Robert had problems reading and writing. 163 00:08:49,528 --> 00:08:52,531 He did apply hisself. He-he took tutoring 164 00:08:52,531 --> 00:08:55,576 and-and things of that nature. 165 00:08:55,576 --> 00:08:58,663 He just couldn't... he couldn't grasp a hold to it. 166 00:08:58,663 --> 00:09:00,706 One day I came home, 167 00:09:00,706 --> 00:09:02,083 Robert was locked in the bathroom. 168 00:09:02,083 --> 00:09:03,876 He was in there crying. 169 00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:06,003 And I... I'm listening. 170 00:09:06,003 --> 00:09:08,965 I hear him in there... just crying. 171 00:09:08,965 --> 00:09:11,217 I knock on the door. "Robert." 172 00:09:11,217 --> 00:09:13,302 He tried to straight... "Yeah." 173 00:09:13,302 --> 00:09:15,763 I said, "What's wrong with you, man?" 174 00:09:15,763 --> 00:09:19,308 Broke down, started crying again. 175 00:09:19,308 --> 00:09:22,311 "I'm just tired of these kids always teasing me 176 00:09:22,311 --> 00:09:24,563 'cause I can't read." 177 00:09:24,563 --> 00:09:27,567 I'm like, "Man, look, let me tell you something. 178 00:09:27,567 --> 00:09:32,113 "It gonna be the same kids that's gonna be crying 179 00:09:32,113 --> 00:09:36,617 because you're famous." 180 00:09:36,617 --> 00:09:38,494 He taught hisself to play by ear. 181 00:09:38,494 --> 00:09:41,914 What he hear... If he hear a beat in his head, 182 00:09:41,914 --> 00:09:43,666 he'd pick it until he... 183 00:09:43,666 --> 00:09:45,835 until that beat come alive. 184 00:09:45,835 --> 00:09:47,169 He would hum it and sing it, 185 00:09:47,169 --> 00:09:49,380 versus having to write it musically 186 00:09:49,380 --> 00:09:51,173 or, you know, write or read music. 187 00:09:51,173 --> 00:09:53,426 He actually gravitated to it like... 188 00:09:53,426 --> 00:09:55,136 It's-it's like he knew 189 00:09:55,136 --> 00:09:57,138 that-that was his purpose. 190 00:10:02,935 --> 00:10:06,439 My name is Craig Williams. I've known Rob about... 191 00:10:06,439 --> 00:10:09,483 30 years, I guess. I met him back in the late '80s. 192 00:10:09,483 --> 00:10:13,779 I was at-at the recording studio Chicago Trax. 193 00:10:13,779 --> 00:10:16,449 Gavin Christopher was an artist in Chicago. 194 00:10:16,449 --> 00:10:17,783 He came to the studio, 195 00:10:17,783 --> 00:10:21,370 and he brought this kid with him. 196 00:10:21,370 --> 00:10:24,540 And the kid was Rob. 197 00:10:24,540 --> 00:10:27,585 He had a little white Casio piano. 198 00:10:27,585 --> 00:10:30,212 Gavin says, "You got to check this kid out. 199 00:10:30,212 --> 00:10:31,422 He can really sing." 200 00:10:31,422 --> 00:10:32,840 He said, "Sing for him." 201 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,134 Rob turned on his piano, 202 00:10:35,134 --> 00:10:37,928 and he started singing a song about roses 203 00:10:37,928 --> 00:10:40,723 or something like that. 204 00:10:40,723 --> 00:10:44,268 He had a voice that was incredible. 205 00:10:44,268 --> 00:10:47,271 It sounded like a hit song already, so I was thinking 206 00:10:47,271 --> 00:10:49,690 he was playing something that was already written, 207 00:10:49,690 --> 00:10:53,611 but this was a song that he had written himself. 208 00:10:53,611 --> 00:10:56,906 At that point, I knew that this kid was something. 209 00:10:56,906 --> 00:11:00,201 He really reminded me of Marvin Gaye 210 00:11:00,201 --> 00:11:02,661 was the first thing, and a Sam Cooke, 211 00:11:02,661 --> 00:11:04,413 a legend. 212 00:11:04,413 --> 00:11:06,916 He was amazing. 213 00:11:06,916 --> 00:11:09,085 CAREY: Robert pretty much stayed busy. 214 00:11:09,085 --> 00:11:10,461 He pretty much went to the studio. 215 00:11:10,461 --> 00:11:12,463 He pretty much became more creative. 216 00:11:12,463 --> 00:11:15,174 He became obsessed with doing music 217 00:11:15,174 --> 00:11:16,675 because that was his outlet, 218 00:11:16,675 --> 00:11:20,721 because it took his mind away from reality... 219 00:11:20,721 --> 00:11:22,723 which was kind of rough. 220 00:11:22,723 --> 00:11:24,725 (train passing) 221 00:11:32,233 --> 00:11:34,985 R. KELLY: Like anything else when you're a child, 222 00:11:34,985 --> 00:11:38,322 whatever you're taught, um... 223 00:11:38,322 --> 00:11:40,449 it goes with you. 224 00:11:42,993 --> 00:11:47,206 CAREY: Once we moved out the projects... 225 00:11:47,206 --> 00:11:50,584 a lot of things changed for the worse. 226 00:11:54,505 --> 00:11:57,091 I recently saw the interview, 227 00:11:57,091 --> 00:12:01,095 uh, that R. Kelly did with Tavis Smiley... 228 00:12:02,721 --> 00:12:04,473 ...which was striking. 229 00:12:04,473 --> 00:12:06,517 SMILEY: At eight or nine years of age, you talk in the book 230 00:12:06,517 --> 00:12:09,478 about how exposed you were to sex. 231 00:12:09,478 --> 00:12:12,314 You saw it. There were adults 232 00:12:12,314 --> 00:12:14,483 who should not have been but were coming on to you 233 00:12:14,483 --> 00:12:15,985 even when you were a child. 234 00:12:15,985 --> 00:12:18,487 What'd that do to you to be exposed to sex 235 00:12:18,487 --> 00:12:20,948 at that early age? 236 00:12:20,948 --> 00:12:23,659 (sighs) 237 00:12:23,659 --> 00:12:25,578 Well... 238 00:12:25,578 --> 00:12:28,998 um, I'm not gonna throw any of my people 239 00:12:28,998 --> 00:12:32,042 or... my family under a bus, 240 00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:35,796 but I feel I owe my fans, um... 241 00:12:37,882 --> 00:12:40,926 ...at least enough for them to have an understanding 242 00:12:40,926 --> 00:12:48,976 as to what I went through. 243 00:12:48,976 --> 00:12:50,853 R. KELLY: I was molested when I was seven And, yes 244 00:12:50,853 --> 00:12:54,482 on to maybe 13, 14, something like that, 245 00:12:54,482 --> 00:12:57,610 uh, by people in my family. 246 00:12:59,153 --> 00:13:03,157 Sexually, it woke up my hormones 247 00:13:03,157 --> 00:13:05,159 a lot earlier than it... 248 00:13:05,159 --> 00:13:07,119 they were supposed to be awakened. 249 00:13:11,624 --> 00:13:15,503 When you're a child, you don't really know. 250 00:13:15,503 --> 00:13:17,630 You only see, 251 00:13:17,630 --> 00:13:20,799 and you learn, and you try to figure it out. 252 00:13:20,799 --> 00:13:25,221 It enhances your curiosity before its time. 253 00:13:25,221 --> 00:13:27,515 You're not supposed to be curious about sex, 254 00:13:27,515 --> 00:13:30,059 because you're not supposed to see sex right now. 255 00:13:35,731 --> 00:13:38,692 I believe that-that Robert... that it's possible. 256 00:13:38,692 --> 00:13:41,362 I don't think that he... If he's saying that, 257 00:13:41,362 --> 00:13:43,239 I don't think that he's lying. 258 00:13:43,239 --> 00:13:46,575 Because it happened to me. It happened to me. 259 00:13:46,575 --> 00:13:50,788 You know, I really don't talk to people about a lot of things 260 00:13:50,788 --> 00:13:53,082 that... that I have been going through. 261 00:13:53,082 --> 00:13:55,626 I just... I just keep it and hold it. 262 00:13:57,211 --> 00:13:59,713 I was molested by a family member, 263 00:13:59,713 --> 00:14:02,174 and that... 264 00:14:02,174 --> 00:14:05,511 shook my world, you know, 'cause I-I didn't understand it. 265 00:14:05,511 --> 00:14:07,555 Um, I knew it wasn't right, 266 00:14:07,555 --> 00:14:10,599 even though I was six years old at that time. 267 00:14:10,599 --> 00:14:14,186 I knew it wasn't right, but it was happening to me. 268 00:14:14,186 --> 00:14:18,148 I was afraid to tell my mom, um... 269 00:14:18,148 --> 00:14:21,443 um, because of the person, who they were. 270 00:14:21,443 --> 00:14:22,861 I-I didn't... 271 00:14:22,861 --> 00:14:25,739 I didn't know if she was gonna... 272 00:14:25,739 --> 00:14:29,743 believe me, so I was afraid to tell her. 273 00:14:29,743 --> 00:14:31,787 Robert, him being my big brother, 274 00:14:31,787 --> 00:14:33,414 I brought that to him 275 00:14:33,414 --> 00:14:36,083 and told-told him what happened to me. 276 00:14:36,083 --> 00:14:38,419 And when I told him what happened to me, 277 00:14:38,419 --> 00:14:41,213 um... 278 00:14:41,213 --> 00:14:44,758 he didn't, he didn't really respond to it 279 00:14:44,758 --> 00:14:47,428 like I felt that he should. 280 00:14:47,428 --> 00:14:48,762 When-when I told him, he said, 281 00:14:48,762 --> 00:14:50,055 "No, that didn't, that didn't happen, 282 00:14:50,055 --> 00:14:51,557 that didn't happen to you." 283 00:14:51,557 --> 00:14:53,267 And I said, "Yes, it did." 284 00:14:53,267 --> 00:14:55,102 You know, Robert said, "No, it didn't." 285 00:14:55,102 --> 00:14:56,645 Then I left it alone. 286 00:14:56,645 --> 00:14:58,772 I really knew not to take it to my mom then. 287 00:14:58,772 --> 00:15:00,566 My brothers was the test. 288 00:15:00,566 --> 00:15:04,612 If they believed me, then maybe I could've took it to an adult. 289 00:15:06,780 --> 00:15:10,743 Child sexual abuse confuses power and control with sex. 290 00:15:10,743 --> 00:15:13,454 And so... 291 00:15:13,454 --> 00:15:16,290 children may want to say, like, 292 00:15:16,290 --> 00:15:19,418 "I want to be the one that's in that power position," right? 293 00:15:19,418 --> 00:15:21,337 "I never want to be a victim again. 294 00:15:21,337 --> 00:15:23,672 "I want to the person that's in the power 295 00:15:23,672 --> 00:15:24,923 in a sexual relationship." 296 00:15:24,923 --> 00:15:26,342 And so, as they get older, 297 00:15:26,342 --> 00:15:27,968 they want to make sure 298 00:15:27,968 --> 00:15:31,180 that they're always in that power position. 299 00:15:31,180 --> 00:15:34,058 And there's really no more powerful position 300 00:15:34,058 --> 00:15:39,730 in a sexual relationship than to be the abuser to the child. 301 00:15:42,232 --> 00:15:44,234 ♪ ♪ 302 00:15:46,153 --> 00:15:47,988 I met Robert at Kenwood High School. 303 00:15:47,988 --> 00:15:49,823 We were in the choir together. 304 00:15:49,823 --> 00:15:51,659 Under Dr. Lena McLin. 305 00:15:51,659 --> 00:15:54,787 JAMILAH LEMIEUX: One of the crown jewels 306 00:15:54,787 --> 00:15:57,831 in Kenwood Academy's, you know, reputation 307 00:15:57,831 --> 00:16:01,251 is their concert choir under the direction of Dr. Lena McLin. 308 00:16:02,836 --> 00:16:05,714 GEM: She was truly like... 309 00:16:05,714 --> 00:16:08,467 Rob's surrogate mother. 310 00:16:08,467 --> 00:16:11,970 She loved that boy, took him under her wing, 311 00:16:11,970 --> 00:16:14,181 and... 312 00:16:14,181 --> 00:16:16,016 really made him and honed him 313 00:16:16,016 --> 00:16:19,186 into being the singer that he is today. 314 00:16:19,186 --> 00:16:23,190 My grandma taught at Kenwood Academy as a music teacher. 315 00:16:23,190 --> 00:16:26,193 So don't nobody think I'm hard, 'cause I'm really very nice. 316 00:16:26,193 --> 00:16:29,530 She was more than just a music teacher to a lot of people. 317 00:16:29,530 --> 00:16:33,158 She was a mother to a lot of people, and still is. 318 00:16:33,158 --> 00:16:35,369 My grandma's taught so many students, 319 00:16:35,369 --> 00:16:37,996 and... of the notable students, 320 00:16:37,996 --> 00:16:39,707 Mandy Patinkin, 321 00:16:39,707 --> 00:16:40,999 Da Brat, 322 00:16:40,999 --> 00:16:42,459 Jennifer Hudson, 323 00:16:42,459 --> 00:16:43,877 Chaka Khan, 324 00:16:43,877 --> 00:16:45,087 just to name a few. 325 00:16:46,380 --> 00:16:48,507 LENA: I was impressed, 326 00:16:48,507 --> 00:16:50,926 and I was amazed, 327 00:16:50,926 --> 00:16:53,721 because he was musically... 328 00:16:53,721 --> 00:16:56,557 uh, genius material. 329 00:16:56,557 --> 00:16:58,392 INTERVIEWER: Did he ever talk about his home life? 330 00:16:58,392 --> 00:17:01,353 No, he didn't talk about that, 331 00:17:01,353 --> 00:17:05,566 but you knew about it, because it came out in the music... 332 00:17:05,566 --> 00:17:08,527 in what-what they express, you know. 333 00:17:08,527 --> 00:17:11,113 Children express what they fear, 334 00:17:11,113 --> 00:17:14,533 they love, that's around them, you know. 335 00:17:16,785 --> 00:17:19,663 And he was very... 336 00:17:19,663 --> 00:17:22,666 very aggressive. 337 00:17:22,666 --> 00:17:23,917 (laughs) 338 00:17:23,917 --> 00:17:26,086 What do you mean by aggressive? 339 00:17:26,086 --> 00:17:30,924 Well, yeah, aggressive in some of his sexual language, too. 340 00:17:30,924 --> 00:17:33,427 Which we had to discuss 341 00:17:33,427 --> 00:17:37,556 and say that it wouldn't be appropriate to school. 342 00:17:37,556 --> 00:17:41,769 It wouldn't really be... really be appropriate, period. 343 00:17:43,395 --> 00:17:45,564 GEM: He dropped out senior year. 344 00:17:45,564 --> 00:17:47,441 You saw his confidence... 345 00:17:47,441 --> 00:17:50,277 kind of swell 346 00:17:50,277 --> 00:17:52,571 once he realized he had a gift, 347 00:17:52,571 --> 00:17:54,782 you know, when it came to, uh, singing. 348 00:17:54,782 --> 00:17:59,912 And it went from him being shy to confident. 349 00:17:59,912 --> 00:18:02,956 It was really, uh, an evolution. 350 00:18:02,956 --> 00:18:06,335 He just honed in on his craft and just... 351 00:18:06,335 --> 00:18:08,128 he made himself 352 00:18:08,128 --> 00:18:10,964 into a great singer. 353 00:18:10,964 --> 00:18:14,051 CAREY: He got noticed... 354 00:18:14,051 --> 00:18:19,097 basically, when he actually went to Natalie Cole's Big Break. 355 00:18:19,097 --> 00:18:20,641 Robert said, "I'm gonna win the show. 356 00:18:20,641 --> 00:18:22,267 I'm gonna win the show." 357 00:18:22,267 --> 00:18:25,604 You had the best talent, you know, in the, in the nation, 358 00:18:25,604 --> 00:18:28,106 and it whittled down to two groups. 359 00:18:28,106 --> 00:18:30,150 Okay, for R. Kelly and MGM, 360 00:18:30,150 --> 00:18:32,694 -they received 280 points. -(cheering) 361 00:18:32,694 --> 00:18:35,823 R. Kelly and MGM is the champion! 362 00:18:35,823 --> 00:18:38,492 A hundred thousand dollars! 363 00:18:38,492 --> 00:18:40,035 Hello! 364 00:18:40,035 --> 00:18:42,996 ♪ ♪ 365 00:18:44,456 --> 00:18:48,460 CAREY: That's when all the labels start calling, 366 00:18:48,460 --> 00:18:50,170 and that's when he took off. 367 00:18:50,170 --> 00:18:54,883 Once he signed to Jive Records, it was a wrap. 368 00:18:57,886 --> 00:18:59,888 ♪ ♪ 369 00:19:03,141 --> 00:19:05,477 I was traveling through Hyde Park at one time, 370 00:19:05,477 --> 00:19:08,355 and I stopped at a store, and Rob was driving by, 371 00:19:08,355 --> 00:19:10,858 and he was on his way to Kenwood High School. 372 00:19:10,858 --> 00:19:13,318 And I heard a lot about Rob going 373 00:19:13,318 --> 00:19:15,988 to Kenwood High School to, to hang out, 374 00:19:15,988 --> 00:19:18,532 and I always wondered, what the heck is he doing 375 00:19:18,532 --> 00:19:20,450 hanging around the high school? 376 00:19:20,450 --> 00:19:24,496 He's... left high school many years ago. 377 00:19:24,496 --> 00:19:26,123 And, uh... 378 00:19:27,499 --> 00:19:29,376 That's all I can say on that one, 379 00:19:29,376 --> 00:19:32,045 'cause I don't know, but I heard that, you know, 380 00:19:32,045 --> 00:19:35,799 he was picking up a lot of... a lot of kids from the school. 381 00:19:35,799 --> 00:19:37,801 ♪ ♪ 382 00:19:43,056 --> 00:19:44,558 My name is Jovante Cunningham. 383 00:19:44,558 --> 00:19:47,561 I have known Robert Kelly since 1991. 384 00:19:47,561 --> 00:19:50,564 At that time, I was about 14. 385 00:19:50,564 --> 00:19:52,691 I met him through a dear friend of mine, 386 00:19:52,691 --> 00:19:53,859 Tiffany. 387 00:19:53,859 --> 00:19:56,862 She was also, uh, yeah, 14. 388 00:19:56,862 --> 00:19:58,864 He was an upcoming artist. 389 00:19:58,864 --> 00:20:02,117 She knew him prior to me meeting her. 390 00:20:02,117 --> 00:20:04,620 I believe they met at Kenwood High School, 391 00:20:04,620 --> 00:20:06,622 and she asked, 392 00:20:06,622 --> 00:20:08,707 "You want to go down and meet so and so?" 393 00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:09,917 And I'm like, "Who is that?" 394 00:20:09,917 --> 00:20:11,376 And we went. 395 00:20:11,376 --> 00:20:13,545 And that's how it started. 396 00:20:16,089 --> 00:20:17,758 Ooh. 397 00:20:17,758 --> 00:20:20,260 Wasn't something that was talked about, you know. 398 00:20:20,260 --> 00:20:21,720 I don't remember actually saying, 399 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,764 "Hey, by the way, how old are you?" 400 00:20:23,764 --> 00:20:27,434 We were doing the background vocals 401 00:20:27,434 --> 00:20:29,728 for the Born into the 90's album. 402 00:20:29,728 --> 00:20:33,065 He would just ask us to come into the studio, 403 00:20:33,065 --> 00:20:35,275 and, "You sing this, you sing this, 404 00:20:35,275 --> 00:20:37,569 you sing that, y'all sing it together." 405 00:20:37,569 --> 00:20:40,280 And that's how it would go. 406 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,034 I wanted to be a professional singer. 407 00:20:44,034 --> 00:20:46,954 You're up close and personal with, um, someone 408 00:20:46,954 --> 00:20:49,289 who is potentially going to be... 409 00:20:49,289 --> 00:20:51,625 seen in the... in the world, 410 00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:54,753 and... you're young, you know? 411 00:20:54,753 --> 00:20:56,755 You're excited. You think, "Wow," you know? 412 00:20:56,755 --> 00:20:58,966 "Who's this person?" and "What do you got going on?" 413 00:20:58,966 --> 00:21:00,884 and "Can I hear your music?" 414 00:21:00,884 --> 00:21:02,469 And that was the first time I heard "Honey Love," 415 00:21:02,469 --> 00:21:04,388 and I was like, "Wow!" 416 00:21:04,388 --> 00:21:07,683 ♪ 'Cause there is something' that ♪ 417 00:21:07,683 --> 00:21:09,643 ♪ I want from you... ♪ 418 00:21:09,643 --> 00:21:11,853 A very talented young man, and... 419 00:21:11,853 --> 00:21:15,107 his ability to create music is ingenious. 420 00:21:15,107 --> 00:21:17,567 It really is. He's truly a talent. 421 00:21:17,567 --> 00:21:20,070 ♪ ♪ 422 00:21:20,070 --> 00:21:21,488 JACQUES CONWAY: Right across the street 423 00:21:21,488 --> 00:21:23,323 from Kenwood High School, 424 00:21:23,323 --> 00:21:26,493 I would see R. Kelly there 425 00:21:26,493 --> 00:21:29,454 on a regular basis, and these were high school girls, 426 00:21:29,454 --> 00:21:31,623 freshmen, sophomores, I couldn't tell exactly. 427 00:21:31,623 --> 00:21:34,251 But I know they were students at the, at the high school. 428 00:21:34,251 --> 00:21:36,670 His nickname is not Pied Piper for nothing. 429 00:21:36,670 --> 00:21:40,465 Pied Piper's whole purpose is to bring the young people to him, 430 00:21:40,465 --> 00:21:43,677 to follow him, to admire him, to listen to him. 431 00:21:43,677 --> 00:21:45,762 And so, he's good at it. 432 00:21:47,139 --> 00:21:49,141 MIKKI KENDALL: The first time I saw R. Kelly, 433 00:21:49,141 --> 00:21:53,145 I was probably around 12, maybe 13. 434 00:21:53,145 --> 00:21:55,522 We would hang out 435 00:21:55,522 --> 00:21:58,150 at the McDonald's in Hyde Park. 436 00:21:58,150 --> 00:22:00,360 I was 14 years old. 437 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:02,988 And we'd always see him come in by himself 438 00:22:02,988 --> 00:22:05,699 but leave with, with some student. 439 00:22:05,699 --> 00:22:07,034 DEMETRIUS SMITH: We'd meet girls. 440 00:22:07,034 --> 00:22:09,202 Robert would, um... 441 00:22:09,202 --> 00:22:11,663 I would... 442 00:22:11,663 --> 00:22:14,458 a lot of times, make people know that R. Kelly's here. 443 00:22:14,458 --> 00:22:17,878 KENDALL: You would see the Ford Explorer pull up. 444 00:22:19,546 --> 00:22:21,715 There were a bunch of girls in Kenwood jackets, 445 00:22:21,715 --> 00:22:23,300 in high school clothes. 446 00:22:24,885 --> 00:22:27,387 You would see him and his group of guys 447 00:22:27,387 --> 00:22:28,889 come in and kind of hang out. 448 00:22:28,889 --> 00:22:30,474 "Mr. Kelly wants to meet you." 449 00:22:30,474 --> 00:22:32,392 ♪ ♪ 450 00:22:32,392 --> 00:22:34,811 And you'd look over, and there was like a little nod. 451 00:22:34,811 --> 00:22:36,897 If you're the girl that smiles back, 452 00:22:36,897 --> 00:22:39,399 that's when he starts talking to you. 453 00:22:39,399 --> 00:22:40,901 CHANEY: Public Announcement, 454 00:22:40,901 --> 00:22:44,196 R. Kelly, Born into the 90's. 455 00:22:44,196 --> 00:22:46,365 He was on the rise. He knew that 456 00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:48,909 he had the singing career, and he was blowing up, 457 00:22:48,909 --> 00:22:51,745 and who wouldn't want to be with a superstar? 458 00:22:51,745 --> 00:22:54,081 He liked high school girls. 459 00:22:54,081 --> 00:22:56,750 He could influence them more. 460 00:22:56,750 --> 00:22:59,586 They were more impressionable. 461 00:22:59,586 --> 00:23:01,546 He tries to slide in in that space 462 00:23:01,546 --> 00:23:03,381 where girls don't know better yet, 463 00:23:03,381 --> 00:23:07,803 where they can't necessarily spot a predator. 464 00:23:07,803 --> 00:23:11,348 People will say, "Well, why didn't anyone notice?" 465 00:23:12,974 --> 00:23:14,518 The answer is that we all noticed; 466 00:23:14,518 --> 00:23:16,937 no one cared because we were black girls. 467 00:23:21,274 --> 00:23:23,568 JOVANTE: I would hear different things, but I didn't realize 468 00:23:23,568 --> 00:23:25,654 what was going on at the time. 469 00:23:25,654 --> 00:23:29,658 I know when we were around, as children ourselves, 470 00:23:29,658 --> 00:23:31,451 as teenagers, 471 00:23:31,451 --> 00:23:33,954 (laughs): it was, "Go out, find me some girls," 472 00:23:33,954 --> 00:23:35,956 to recruit, in a sense. 473 00:23:35,956 --> 00:23:38,750 I mean, and at that time you didn't think of it as that. 474 00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:40,836 At that time you're thinking, "Go get me some girls"? 475 00:23:40,836 --> 00:23:43,922 I mean, we weren't looking for underage women. 476 00:23:43,922 --> 00:23:46,633 In our minds we were just looking for girls. 477 00:23:46,633 --> 00:23:49,302 We were so stupid. 478 00:23:49,302 --> 00:23:51,304 Just so... 479 00:23:51,304 --> 00:23:53,056 naive. 480 00:23:53,056 --> 00:23:56,476 ♪ ♪ 481 00:23:56,476 --> 00:23:59,187 The first time I witnessed a sexual act in the studio 482 00:23:59,187 --> 00:24:01,022 was during the recording 483 00:24:01,022 --> 00:24:03,024 of "Slow Dance," the remix. 484 00:24:03,024 --> 00:24:06,778 He had one of my teenage friends in the booth with him bent over. 485 00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:13,618 And we were all right there. 486 00:24:13,618 --> 00:24:15,954 ♪ ♪ 487 00:24:15,954 --> 00:24:18,665 I will not say with whom, 488 00:24:18,665 --> 00:24:20,709 but none of us were of age. 489 00:24:20,709 --> 00:24:22,711 None of us. 490 00:24:36,224 --> 00:24:38,226 Um... 491 00:24:39,686 --> 00:24:42,230 We went through a lot. 492 00:24:42,230 --> 00:24:44,357 We experienced a lot. 493 00:24:44,357 --> 00:24:46,359 We saw a lot. Um... 494 00:24:48,403 --> 00:24:53,074 It was a period of time when... 495 00:24:53,074 --> 00:24:56,203 um... 496 00:24:56,203 --> 00:24:58,538 we were just trying to make it. 497 00:24:58,538 --> 00:25:00,665 We had... we had big dreams, 498 00:25:00,665 --> 00:25:05,212 and we thought we were gonna be somebody. 499 00:25:12,552 --> 00:25:14,346 "And don't give me that bull(bleep) about it. 500 00:25:14,346 --> 00:25:16,598 You should not meet 'em." 501 00:25:16,598 --> 00:25:20,060 And that was my language to him consistently. 502 00:25:20,060 --> 00:25:22,562 He has no business around them. 503 00:25:22,562 --> 00:25:25,440 They were too young for him. 504 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,443 I told him, "Go on, live your life the way you want to live, 505 00:25:28,443 --> 00:25:30,695 but don't bring down somebody else's life." 506 00:25:35,742 --> 00:25:38,119 LEMIEUX: So, 1993, 507 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,498 we get 12 Play, which is, 508 00:25:41,498 --> 00:25:45,752 in my opinion, what really establishes R. Kelly as 509 00:25:45,752 --> 00:25:47,712 one of the most influential, 510 00:25:47,712 --> 00:25:51,758 if not the most influential R&B artist of his generation. 511 00:25:51,758 --> 00:25:54,886 "Bump n' Grind" is his first big song. 512 00:25:54,886 --> 00:25:56,638 ♪ With a little bump and grind ♪ 513 00:25:56,638 --> 00:25:58,723 ♪ With a little bump and grind... ♪ 514 00:25:58,723 --> 00:26:00,934 It's kind of slow, like a ballad, 515 00:26:00,934 --> 00:26:03,103 but then it's like, 516 00:26:03,103 --> 00:26:06,940 there's nothing wrong with being physical and sexual. 517 00:26:06,940 --> 00:26:10,652 And so, it's sort of that classic R&B message of, like, 518 00:26:10,652 --> 00:26:13,029 sexuality's okay, like, it's okay to be physical. 519 00:26:13,029 --> 00:26:15,949 LEMIEUX: In the beginning, with 12 Play, we get to this point 520 00:26:15,949 --> 00:26:18,118 where it's less about having 521 00:26:18,118 --> 00:26:21,371 beautiful lyrics, or a beautiful melody and a great voice, 522 00:26:21,371 --> 00:26:23,540 and almost about this kind of shock and awe, 523 00:26:23,540 --> 00:26:25,625 and this raunch and this raw sexuality. 524 00:26:25,625 --> 00:26:27,627 You know, "Sex Me." 525 00:26:27,627 --> 00:26:30,463 TOURE: I mean, a lot of these songs are great, you know. 526 00:26:30,463 --> 00:26:32,966 It's just that, when you start to think about the sort of 527 00:26:32,966 --> 00:26:34,968 person behind them, you start to go, like... 528 00:26:34,968 --> 00:26:36,469 (Touré sucks in through teeth) 529 00:26:36,469 --> 00:26:37,804 (grunts) 530 00:26:37,804 --> 00:26:40,765 CRAIG: I remember Rob from nothing 531 00:26:40,765 --> 00:26:44,811 and sleeping in his car... 532 00:26:44,811 --> 00:26:46,855 to stardom just that fast. 533 00:26:48,189 --> 00:26:50,191 I can only imagine that 534 00:26:50,191 --> 00:26:53,653 he got caught up and lost himself 535 00:26:53,653 --> 00:26:55,822 in the fame and the fortune. 536 00:26:59,284 --> 00:27:02,162 And then Rob met Aaliyah 537 00:27:02,162 --> 00:27:05,832 through his manager, which... 538 00:27:05,832 --> 00:27:08,460 Aaliyah was Barry Hankerson's niece. 539 00:27:16,593 --> 00:27:18,178 R. KELLY: Right now I'm producing 540 00:27:18,178 --> 00:27:20,847 a very talented young lady, Aaliyah. 541 00:27:20,847 --> 00:27:24,851 Uh, she's real sweet. She just be chillin'. 542 00:27:24,851 --> 00:27:26,686 -Hey, Aaliyah? -AALIYAH: Yo. 543 00:27:26,686 --> 00:27:28,521 -That first verse is funky, right? -Mm-hmm. 544 00:27:28,521 --> 00:27:31,524 What I want you to do is... I want you to try to get into it 545 00:27:31,524 --> 00:27:33,318 -just a little bit more for me. -Okay. 546 00:27:33,318 --> 00:27:35,695 Just get into it a little more, make it a little more street. 547 00:27:35,695 --> 00:27:37,155 -All right? -All right. 548 00:27:37,155 --> 00:27:38,740 -You sound good, though, baby. -All right. 549 00:27:40,867 --> 00:27:43,995 Uh... very shy kid, very tomboyish. 550 00:27:43,995 --> 00:27:46,122 Glasses, braces. 551 00:27:46,122 --> 00:27:49,250 No-no swag. 552 00:27:49,250 --> 00:27:51,586 She's truly an angelic individual. 553 00:27:51,586 --> 00:27:54,714 She was truly a beautiful young lady. 554 00:27:54,714 --> 00:27:56,758 Aaliyah just needed a look. 555 00:27:56,758 --> 00:27:58,927 That's all. She just needed a little... 556 00:27:58,927 --> 00:28:00,720 a little something to spice it up. 557 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,889 She was still very young. She was 12 years old. 558 00:28:02,889 --> 00:28:07,102 We taught her her street thing, we gave her her vibe. 559 00:28:07,102 --> 00:28:08,728 She went from wearing 560 00:28:08,728 --> 00:28:10,939 fitted clothes to the baggy jeans 561 00:28:10,939 --> 00:28:15,610 with the half shirts, with the baseball caps. 562 00:28:15,610 --> 00:28:18,905 We taught her how to be an artist in the sense 563 00:28:18,905 --> 00:28:21,074 of having a stage presence. 564 00:28:21,074 --> 00:28:23,410 We would sneak Aaliyah out of the hotel... (laughs) 565 00:28:23,410 --> 00:28:26,454 ...and take her all over the place. 566 00:28:26,454 --> 00:28:28,206 It was fun. 567 00:28:29,582 --> 00:28:32,210 We used to take her to my dad's house, and... 568 00:28:32,210 --> 00:28:34,546 we'd dance and sing in the living room. 569 00:28:36,965 --> 00:28:40,301 Aaliyah became very close with Tia and myself. 570 00:28:40,301 --> 00:28:42,303 We were all very close. 571 00:28:42,303 --> 00:28:44,264 She and myself had a very close-knit relationship 572 00:28:44,264 --> 00:28:45,765 and friendship. 573 00:28:45,765 --> 00:28:47,642 Those were the good old days. 574 00:28:47,642 --> 00:28:50,895 But those are the things that also... make you cry. 575 00:28:54,899 --> 00:28:57,110 TOURE: Aaliyah's first album 576 00:28:57,110 --> 00:28:58,778 is made by R. Kelly, 577 00:28:58,778 --> 00:29:00,780 and it's called Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. 578 00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:04,617 And that main... the title song, is about 579 00:29:04,617 --> 00:29:07,954 a young girl who's trying to get an older guy 580 00:29:07,954 --> 00:29:10,790 to go all the way with her. 581 00:29:10,790 --> 00:29:12,959 I mean... 582 00:29:12,959 --> 00:29:16,463 it's, it's-it's frightening and it's disgusting. 583 00:29:16,463 --> 00:29:19,340 ♪ Boy, be brave ♪ 584 00:29:19,340 --> 00:29:22,177 ♪ Don't be afraid ♪ 585 00:29:22,177 --> 00:29:27,640 ♪ 'Cause tonight we're gonna go all the way ♪ 586 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:29,809 ♪ Age ain't nothin' but a number ♪ 587 00:29:29,809 --> 00:29:34,147 ♪ Throwin' down ain't nothin' but a thing. ♪ 588 00:29:34,147 --> 00:29:39,652 There's this young girl who's obviously not even, you know, 589 00:29:39,652 --> 00:29:41,488 barely in puberty, right? 590 00:29:41,488 --> 00:29:44,699 But there's a... there's a kind of sexuality to her 591 00:29:44,699 --> 00:29:47,494 that is part of why it worked, 592 00:29:47,494 --> 00:29:49,537 and R. Kelly used that. 593 00:29:49,537 --> 00:29:51,498 And calling it... age is just but a, you know, but a number-- 594 00:29:51,498 --> 00:29:53,833 he's playing on all of that right away, and that's a... 595 00:29:53,833 --> 00:29:55,710 "Age ain't nothing but a number" is a thing 596 00:29:55,710 --> 00:29:58,171 in the black community I've heard since I was a little boy, 597 00:29:58,171 --> 00:30:00,340 when a, when a hot young girl walks by, 598 00:30:00,340 --> 00:30:02,008 and a guy in a barbershop says that. 599 00:30:02,008 --> 00:30:05,637 "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" is definitely 600 00:30:05,637 --> 00:30:08,139 a perfect song 601 00:30:08,139 --> 00:30:11,976 for hiding in plain sight. 602 00:30:11,976 --> 00:30:15,522 DEMETRIUS: Robert brought a beauty out of her voice 603 00:30:15,522 --> 00:30:20,360 to where she became the star that she was. 604 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,612 He said he wanted her to have the best of everything. 605 00:30:22,612 --> 00:30:24,489 He said, "Man, I want to make her the biggest star 606 00:30:24,489 --> 00:30:26,366 in the world, man. Look at her. She's so..." 607 00:30:26,366 --> 00:30:28,034 She was so beautiful to him. 608 00:30:28,034 --> 00:30:30,036 And she always had him laughing. They would... 609 00:30:30,036 --> 00:30:31,913 I'm gonna just tell you. We'd go get ice cream, 610 00:30:31,913 --> 00:30:34,082 and I'm in the back, and I'm walking behind 'em all the time. 611 00:30:34,082 --> 00:30:36,584 And they... They're just so silly, man. 612 00:30:36,584 --> 00:30:38,419 (laughs) You know, they were silly. 613 00:30:40,421 --> 00:30:44,592 CRAIG: I met Aaliyah once at the studio at CRC. 614 00:30:44,592 --> 00:30:49,597 At that point, I didn't see anything, uh, unusual, 615 00:30:49,597 --> 00:30:54,269 um... except a producer working with an artist. 616 00:30:54,269 --> 00:30:58,731 LEMIEUX: It wasn't until I was maybe a teenager myself 617 00:30:58,731 --> 00:31:01,234 that it really bothered me 618 00:31:01,234 --> 00:31:04,112 just how much older he was than her. 619 00:31:04,112 --> 00:31:06,906 At the time I remember thinking, "That's not right. 620 00:31:06,906 --> 00:31:09,742 I don't have no grown man friends." Right? 621 00:31:09,742 --> 00:31:12,412 Like, I just can't wrap my brain around, like, 622 00:31:12,412 --> 00:31:15,748 having a grown-up, period, as a friend. 623 00:31:15,748 --> 00:31:17,959 You know, a babysitter or a friend of the family, 624 00:31:17,959 --> 00:31:20,795 but never being left alone in the care of a male, 625 00:31:20,795 --> 00:31:22,755 aside from my father. 626 00:31:25,425 --> 00:31:27,468 Her parents trusted. 627 00:31:27,468 --> 00:31:30,597 They trusted me. They trusted us. 628 00:31:34,267 --> 00:31:37,520 I thought they were getting closer. 629 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:39,564 I was beginning to suspect things but didn't want to. 630 00:31:39,564 --> 00:31:41,107 So I asked Robert. I said, "Robert, man, 631 00:31:41,107 --> 00:31:42,609 what's going on, man? You ain't messing..." 632 00:31:42,609 --> 00:31:44,944 "Hell no, man. I'm not messing with Aaliyah." 633 00:31:51,618 --> 00:31:53,786 It was under talks for a long time 634 00:31:53,786 --> 00:31:56,122 about having them come up to the show. 635 00:31:56,122 --> 00:31:59,459 It was kind of like, they don't want you to talk about the age. 636 00:31:59,459 --> 00:32:01,836 They don't want you to talk about any of this stuff. 637 00:32:01,836 --> 00:32:03,630 But as a journalist, 638 00:32:03,630 --> 00:32:06,799 you kind of have to decide, are you gonna take this risk 639 00:32:06,799 --> 00:32:09,135 while this platform is in front of you 640 00:32:09,135 --> 00:32:11,304 and ask the questions that the people want to know? 641 00:32:11,304 --> 00:32:12,805 Okay, let's clear something up, 'cause, you know, 642 00:32:12,805 --> 00:32:14,140 I have been getting the rundown on the street. 643 00:32:14,140 --> 00:32:15,642 Everybody seems to think 644 00:32:15,642 --> 00:32:17,518 that y'all are either girlfriend and boyfriend, 645 00:32:17,518 --> 00:32:19,646 -or cousins, or friends. -KELLY (laughs): Look at my man. 646 00:32:19,646 --> 00:32:22,315 Just let's... let's just get the record straight. 647 00:32:22,315 --> 00:32:23,733 We're just very close. He's my best friend. 648 00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:25,526 R. KELLY: Yeah, cool. In the whole wide world. 649 00:32:25,526 --> 00:32:28,112 -SEGAR: Now who found who? -In the whole wide world. 650 00:32:28,112 --> 00:32:31,157 TOURE: They are asked direct questions. 651 00:32:31,157 --> 00:32:34,702 "Are you guys dating?" And they would not give direct answers. 652 00:32:34,702 --> 00:32:37,038 They would both give these vague answers 653 00:32:37,038 --> 00:32:38,831 that left it all up in the air. 654 00:32:38,831 --> 00:32:40,750 So they knew this wasn't right. 655 00:32:40,750 --> 00:32:43,336 SEGAR: And for the record, you are how old? 656 00:32:43,336 --> 00:32:44,837 -That's a secret. Shh. -Uh-oh. 657 00:32:44,837 --> 00:32:47,215 A woman doesn't disclose her age, y'all. 658 00:32:47,215 --> 00:32:49,008 (laughter) 659 00:32:49,008 --> 00:32:51,678 -Keeping it under wraps. -AALIYAH: That's right. 660 00:32:51,678 --> 00:32:54,097 SEGAR: Seeing them dressed alike 661 00:32:54,097 --> 00:32:58,351 was really kind of like dangling candy in front of a baby. 662 00:32:58,351 --> 00:33:01,521 Like, this is promotion, this is a media machine. 663 00:33:01,521 --> 00:33:03,231 We're gonna work this to our benefit, 664 00:33:03,231 --> 00:33:05,233 and we're gonna toy with you, we're gonna play with you, 665 00:33:05,233 --> 00:33:07,360 and we're not gonna give you any direct answers, 666 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:09,445 and we're gonna kind of leave you wondering, 667 00:33:09,445 --> 00:33:10,947 "Well, are they a couple?" 668 00:33:13,408 --> 00:33:16,119 We were out on the road 669 00:33:16,119 --> 00:33:18,579 with Aaliyah. 670 00:33:18,579 --> 00:33:22,542 On a tour bus, there really aren't any confined spaces. 671 00:33:22,542 --> 00:33:24,877 When you get on the bus, there are bunks. 672 00:33:24,877 --> 00:33:27,714 And so, these bunks have little curtains you can pull at night 673 00:33:27,714 --> 00:33:29,716 if you don't want anybody to see you sleeping. 674 00:33:29,716 --> 00:33:31,217 So it just so happened 675 00:33:31,217 --> 00:33:34,262 we were all laying in our bunks. 676 00:33:34,262 --> 00:33:36,806 It was... And curtains are open. 677 00:33:36,806 --> 00:33:38,474 Everybody's communicating, laughing. 678 00:33:38,474 --> 00:33:40,226 We used to play different pranks on each other. 679 00:33:40,226 --> 00:33:42,186 And, uh... 680 00:33:42,186 --> 00:33:45,106 I think it was intended to... prank time, 681 00:33:45,106 --> 00:33:49,235 when the door flew open on the bus. 682 00:33:51,571 --> 00:33:53,489 Robert was having sex with Aaliyah. 683 00:34:13,426 --> 00:34:15,428 I feel protective of Aaliyah right now, 684 00:34:15,428 --> 00:34:20,016 which is why I can't get my mouth to say... 685 00:34:23,936 --> 00:34:26,230 He destroyed a lot of people. 686 00:34:28,274 --> 00:34:30,610 Destroyed a lot of people. 687 00:34:30,610 --> 00:34:34,447 A lot of people who loved and adored him, and... 688 00:34:37,909 --> 00:34:41,454 I can't stress to you enough how... 689 00:34:41,454 --> 00:34:43,456 people are still suffering 690 00:34:43,456 --> 00:34:48,211 behind things that went on 20 years ago. 691 00:34:54,467 --> 00:34:56,928 After that, it kind of started the breakup 692 00:34:56,928 --> 00:34:59,305 of everything and everybody. 693 00:34:59,305 --> 00:35:00,807 A lot of people... 694 00:35:00,807 --> 00:35:04,477 People's emotions were challenged. 695 00:35:04,477 --> 00:35:08,648 Our whole family just kind of ripped up. 696 00:35:12,902 --> 00:35:15,279 DEMETRIUS: Robert came to me. We were in Miami. 697 00:35:17,281 --> 00:35:21,744 Robert said, "Man, we got Aaliyah in trouble." 698 00:35:23,329 --> 00:35:26,165 And, um, "Aaliyah in trouble? What do you mean?" 699 00:35:26,165 --> 00:35:27,917 "Man, we got to get to Chicago." 700 00:35:27,917 --> 00:35:31,796 I said, "Well, I'm-I'm-a call Barry and tell Barry." 701 00:35:31,796 --> 00:35:33,840 "No, man, we can't tell Barry." 702 00:35:36,676 --> 00:35:41,305 Robert mentioned to me that, um, "I think she's pregnant." 703 00:35:41,305 --> 00:35:44,475 And... that broke my heart right there. 704 00:35:44,475 --> 00:35:47,311 I was so disappointed in him, 'cause I really believed him 705 00:35:47,311 --> 00:35:49,105 when he said that, you know, 706 00:35:49,105 --> 00:35:50,773 he wasn't doing and messing with Aaliyah. 707 00:35:50,773 --> 00:35:54,861 'Cause I questioned him, and, um... 708 00:35:54,861 --> 00:35:57,780 once he told me that, I was, like... 709 00:35:57,780 --> 00:36:00,867 I just... I was... I was lost for words, man. Um... 710 00:36:02,326 --> 00:36:04,912 He married Aaliyah. 711 00:36:08,082 --> 00:36:11,002 I was in the room when they got married. 712 00:36:13,754 --> 00:36:16,173 TOURE: In 1994, I was working at MTV News 713 00:36:16,173 --> 00:36:18,593 as a writer, not on air, 714 00:36:18,593 --> 00:36:23,097 and the issue of, "Is he married to Aaliyah?" 715 00:36:23,097 --> 00:36:26,726 was-was wild and being talked about widely. 716 00:36:26,726 --> 00:36:31,606 Finally, my boss told me, "Call the Cook County Clerk's Office 717 00:36:31,606 --> 00:36:34,525 and tell them to send you the marriage certificate." 718 00:36:34,525 --> 00:36:37,737 Hip-hop star R. Kelly did indeed marry his protégée, 719 00:36:37,737 --> 00:36:39,655 the 15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton. 720 00:36:39,655 --> 00:36:41,157 TOURE: MTV News was the first 721 00:36:41,157 --> 00:36:42,783 to put out this marriage certificate 722 00:36:42,783 --> 00:36:45,036 on which Aaliyah had said that she was 18, 723 00:36:45,036 --> 00:36:47,788 when she's actually 15, and R. Kelly was 27, 724 00:36:47,788 --> 00:36:49,874 and they were married. 725 00:36:51,542 --> 00:36:54,879 I, uh, went, and I, um... I, um... 726 00:36:54,879 --> 00:36:56,589 I'm not proud of that. 727 00:36:56,589 --> 00:36:59,300 I forged, I had papers forged for them. 728 00:37:00,551 --> 00:37:04,347 But Aaliyah was underage. 729 00:37:04,347 --> 00:37:07,099 Got the marriage license, and we were in a hotel 730 00:37:07,099 --> 00:37:09,894 in, uh, Maywood, Illinois. 731 00:37:09,894 --> 00:37:12,772 It was just a quick little ceremony. 732 00:37:12,772 --> 00:37:15,316 Nothing elaborate; she didn't have on a white dress. 733 00:37:15,316 --> 00:37:17,109 Robert didn't have on a tux. 734 00:37:17,109 --> 00:37:19,111 Just everyday wear. 735 00:37:19,111 --> 00:37:22,615 Robert said, "I do." (laughs) 736 00:37:22,615 --> 00:37:24,867 He said, "I do." Him and Aaliyah. 737 00:37:28,955 --> 00:37:31,916 Aaliyah looked worried. 738 00:37:31,916 --> 00:37:34,835 Scared. 739 00:37:34,835 --> 00:37:37,296 (sighs) 740 00:37:37,296 --> 00:37:39,298 Worried and scared. 741 00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:44,345 I wanted so much to grab Aaliyah and talk to her. 742 00:37:44,345 --> 00:37:47,682 I wanted so much to talk to her. 743 00:37:47,682 --> 00:37:49,350 'Cause she looked at me, she gave me a look 744 00:37:49,350 --> 00:37:51,769 like she wanted me to talk to her. 745 00:37:51,769 --> 00:37:54,355 That's why I feel like I left her-- I-I failed them. 746 00:37:54,355 --> 00:37:56,315 Both of them. 747 00:37:56,315 --> 00:37:59,902 I knew that it had changed the course of everything. 748 00:38:09,870 --> 00:38:12,748 was not familiar with how the annulment happened with Aaliyah. 749 00:38:12,748 --> 00:38:15,793 I just know that it did. 750 00:38:15,793 --> 00:38:17,837 Her parents had the last say-so. 751 00:38:28,014 --> 00:38:29,890 TOURE: The Aaliyah situation, 752 00:38:29,890 --> 00:38:34,103 a lot of us kind of forgave but were kind of like, 753 00:38:34,103 --> 00:38:37,606 "That was weird, but okay. What else you got?" 754 00:38:37,606 --> 00:38:39,650 Well, they're both performers, 755 00:38:39,650 --> 00:38:42,528 and she's old beyond her years. 756 00:38:42,528 --> 00:38:45,114 And they just have that special connection. 757 00:38:45,114 --> 00:38:47,116 It didn't yet appear like 758 00:38:47,116 --> 00:38:50,578 here's a person who is a predator. 759 00:38:53,247 --> 00:38:54,790 Where was the outrage? 760 00:38:54,790 --> 00:38:56,459 Where was Essence? Where was Ebony? 761 00:38:56,459 --> 00:38:58,210 Where was the local news? Where was anyone? 762 00:38:58,210 --> 00:39:02,715 Like, why was this not, in that moment, full stop? 763 00:39:02,715 --> 00:39:08,387 Why didn't the culture say something is wrong? 764 00:39:11,098 --> 00:39:13,893 POWERS: You had this whole history 765 00:39:13,893 --> 00:39:17,229 of adult male musicians who hung out with young girls. 766 00:39:17,229 --> 00:39:19,690 Musicians who "mentor" young girls. 767 00:39:19,690 --> 00:39:22,401 You had the history of musicians who married young girl fans. 768 00:39:22,401 --> 00:39:26,405 And I think while it was disturbing to people, 769 00:39:26,405 --> 00:39:28,824 it's very easy to rationalize things 770 00:39:28,824 --> 00:39:31,285 when you're in the industry 771 00:39:31,285 --> 00:39:32,995 and you see this flourishing career, 772 00:39:32,995 --> 00:39:36,082 not only of Kelly, but of Aaliyah. 773 00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:38,959 GEORGE: If you listen to the history 774 00:39:38,959 --> 00:39:40,419 of American popular music, 775 00:39:40,419 --> 00:39:41,962 particularly rock and roll, 776 00:39:41,962 --> 00:39:44,799 there's a whole thing about underage girls 777 00:39:44,799 --> 00:39:48,219 that's a big running theme in-in so much of the songs. 778 00:39:48,219 --> 00:39:50,971 "Sweet Little Sixteen." 779 00:39:50,971 --> 00:39:54,892 There's a body of work of underage girls 780 00:39:54,892 --> 00:39:56,435 being sexual targets, 781 00:39:56,435 --> 00:39:58,479 being sexually promiscuous, being celebrated. 782 00:39:58,479 --> 00:40:02,983 POWERS: It's hard to think of a group or an artist 783 00:40:02,983 --> 00:40:05,361 who didn't pay tribute to teenage girls 784 00:40:05,361 --> 00:40:07,905 in a way that we might question today. 785 00:40:07,905 --> 00:40:09,657 Even the Beatles, you know. 786 00:40:09,657 --> 00:40:11,534 "When I Saw Her Standing There." 787 00:40:11,534 --> 00:40:13,953 "She was just 17, if you know what I mean." 788 00:40:15,788 --> 00:40:18,833 Jerry Lee Lewis famously married 789 00:40:18,833 --> 00:40:22,837 his 13-year-old cousin Myra, um, 790 00:40:22,837 --> 00:40:24,088 and they flaunted their relationship. 791 00:40:24,088 --> 00:40:25,089 That actually brought down 792 00:40:25,089 --> 00:40:26,715 his career. 793 00:40:26,715 --> 00:40:30,469 Elvis Presley was more subtle and careful 794 00:40:30,469 --> 00:40:32,972 with his teenage girlfriend Priscilla, 795 00:40:32,972 --> 00:40:36,767 who he met when he was a soldier abroad in Germany 796 00:40:36,767 --> 00:40:41,397 and whom he brought to live with him as a young teenager. 797 00:40:41,397 --> 00:40:45,317 So when you think of girls who are going to shows, 798 00:40:45,317 --> 00:40:49,363 attending concerts, becoming completely hysterical, um, 799 00:40:49,363 --> 00:40:51,574 and then meeting their heroes, 800 00:40:51,574 --> 00:40:54,076 these-- this is a situation ripe 801 00:40:54,076 --> 00:40:57,788 for, uh, men taking advantage of young girls. 802 00:41:00,749 --> 00:41:03,502 JOVANTE: Robert feels as if he's invincible. 803 00:41:03,502 --> 00:41:05,796 "I can't be touched." 804 00:41:07,590 --> 00:41:09,466 And in hindsight, in society, 805 00:41:09,466 --> 00:41:11,093 we kind of made him feel that way. 806 00:41:11,093 --> 00:41:13,387 Because he's progressively done this 807 00:41:13,387 --> 00:41:16,265 for as far back as I can remember, 808 00:41:16,265 --> 00:41:18,184 and nothing has been done about it. 809 00:41:20,186 --> 00:41:23,898 POWERS: R. Kelly created and occupied 810 00:41:23,898 --> 00:41:26,150 a position of outrageousness 811 00:41:26,150 --> 00:41:29,653 that kind of masked everything 812 00:41:29,653 --> 00:41:31,822 that was happening behind the scenes. 813 00:41:34,325 --> 00:41:35,534 CRAIG: And then, when you get that type of fame 814 00:41:35,534 --> 00:41:37,119 and that type of power, 815 00:41:37,119 --> 00:41:39,788 and you come from nothing and you know nothing, 816 00:41:39,788 --> 00:41:42,791 and all you know is that everyone around you is "yes" 817 00:41:42,791 --> 00:41:45,085 and "okay," "sure," 818 00:41:45,085 --> 00:41:47,129 and you have everything at your beck and call, 819 00:41:47,129 --> 00:41:49,215 you kind of lose perspective of reality. 820 00:41:54,386 --> 00:41:56,597 DR. JODY ADEWALE: Oftentimes, perpetrators 821 00:41:56,597 --> 00:42:00,184 will be so brave to say, "I'm gonna let the world know. 822 00:42:00,184 --> 00:42:01,769 "I'm gonna let everyone see what's going on, 823 00:42:01,769 --> 00:42:03,395 and you'd better not say anything." 824 00:42:06,774 --> 00:42:09,151 That speaks to the amount of control 825 00:42:09,151 --> 00:42:13,155 an individual might have over another person. 826 00:42:13,155 --> 00:42:16,492 CRAIG: I went to a few parties at Rob's house. 827 00:42:16,492 --> 00:42:18,452 One particular time I was there, 828 00:42:18,452 --> 00:42:20,663 I went down to the studio. 829 00:42:20,663 --> 00:42:23,082 There was a girl standing next to Rob, 830 00:42:23,082 --> 00:42:25,542 and she was naked and he was feeling on her booty. 831 00:42:25,542 --> 00:42:28,128 Um... 832 00:42:30,631 --> 00:42:34,385 You have a big star. 833 00:42:34,385 --> 00:42:38,097 That is part of the lifestyle. 834 00:42:38,097 --> 00:42:42,935 But when you see that there are girls there that look young, 835 00:42:42,935 --> 00:42:45,521 it becomes very questionable to me. 836 00:42:45,521 --> 00:42:48,065 And I didn't check IDs and didn't ask for IDs, 837 00:42:48,065 --> 00:42:52,778 but you can clearly see that these were babies in my eyes. 838 00:42:52,778 --> 00:42:56,657 And that was something that I didn't want to be around. 839 00:42:59,451 --> 00:43:02,371 (crowd cheering) 840 00:43:02,371 --> 00:43:04,832 CAREY: When I was out there on tour with him, 841 00:43:04,832 --> 00:43:07,626 he had a lot of guys that, you know, would pretty much, 842 00:43:07,626 --> 00:43:10,337 you know, if-if he say, 843 00:43:10,337 --> 00:43:12,256 "Go get some girls from the mall," 844 00:43:12,256 --> 00:43:13,757 they'll go get some girls. 845 00:43:13,757 --> 00:43:16,135 You look at the people around somebody, 846 00:43:16,135 --> 00:43:18,053 and it's very upsetting 847 00:43:18,053 --> 00:43:21,724 that he really didn't have to do much 848 00:43:21,724 --> 00:43:23,475 to get these young girls. 849 00:43:25,185 --> 00:43:26,562 Oh, we'd always go to the mall, too. 850 00:43:26,562 --> 00:43:28,188 We'd go in the mall in every city. 851 00:43:28,188 --> 00:43:29,690 We're just chilling. 852 00:43:29,690 --> 00:43:31,108 We're gonna go to the mall today. 853 00:43:31,108 --> 00:43:32,234 We're gonna try to keep it low-key. 854 00:43:32,234 --> 00:43:33,819 We'll see what happens. 855 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:43,162 LIZZETTE: My name is Lizzette Martinez, 856 00:43:43,162 --> 00:43:45,164 from Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. 857 00:43:46,582 --> 00:43:49,293 I was a typical teenager. 858 00:43:49,293 --> 00:43:52,421 I was at Aventura Mall with some girlfriends, 859 00:43:52,421 --> 00:43:54,923 and, uh, I see someone. 860 00:43:54,923 --> 00:43:57,343 A really tall guy wearing sunglasses. 861 00:43:57,343 --> 00:44:00,304 So I said to my friend, 862 00:44:00,304 --> 00:44:02,765 "Oh, I think that's R. Kelly." 863 00:44:02,765 --> 00:44:04,808 And she's like, "Why would he be at the mall?" 864 00:44:04,808 --> 00:44:07,519 And I said, "No, that's him." 865 00:44:07,519 --> 00:44:09,229 And he heard me, 866 00:44:09,229 --> 00:44:11,774 and then he turned around, 867 00:44:11,774 --> 00:44:13,734 and I was kind of starstruck, you know. 868 00:44:13,734 --> 00:44:15,402 Here's this person in front of me 869 00:44:15,402 --> 00:44:17,863 that I think is, like, the world. 870 00:44:17,863 --> 00:44:20,032 And he walked up to me and gave me a hug, 871 00:44:20,032 --> 00:44:22,951 and I kind of, like, just... I was kind of frozen. 872 00:44:22,951 --> 00:44:25,996 And then he said he was recording an album. 873 00:44:25,996 --> 00:44:28,582 I said, "Okay, nice to meet you." And he left. 874 00:44:28,582 --> 00:44:30,667 But then his bodyguard came back 875 00:44:30,667 --> 00:44:32,836 and handed me his phone number 876 00:44:32,836 --> 00:44:35,756 and said, "R. Kelly would like you to call him." 877 00:44:37,299 --> 00:44:39,426 My best friend was with me, 878 00:44:39,426 --> 00:44:42,054 and she said, "Liz, this is your big break. 879 00:44:42,054 --> 00:44:44,223 Like, you better call, or I'm gonna call for you." 880 00:44:44,223 --> 00:44:46,850 For me, singing was always an outlet, 881 00:44:46,850 --> 00:44:48,685 and I planned on having a career. 882 00:44:48,685 --> 00:44:51,647 So I called and he said, 883 00:44:51,647 --> 00:44:55,484 "Well, I'd like you to come to dinner with us." 884 00:44:55,484 --> 00:44:58,112 My girlfriend said, "Let's get your makeup and hair done now. 885 00:44:58,112 --> 00:45:00,614 You know, this is it. You're gonna make it." 886 00:45:00,614 --> 00:45:03,450 We were so naive. 887 00:45:09,206 --> 00:45:12,376 LIZZETTE: His bodyguard handed me his phone number and said, 888 00:45:12,376 --> 00:45:14,169 "R. Kelly would like you to call him." 889 00:45:15,504 --> 00:45:19,925 So we met him at the steakhouse. 890 00:45:19,925 --> 00:45:22,428 It came up that I was, you know, an aspiring singer. 891 00:45:22,428 --> 00:45:26,098 Later on, we went to the recording studio, 892 00:45:26,098 --> 00:45:28,100 and my heart was thumping when I walked in. 893 00:45:28,100 --> 00:45:32,104 And he starts to play the piano. 894 00:45:32,104 --> 00:45:34,106 He plays a song by Boyz II Men 895 00:45:34,106 --> 00:45:35,732 and asked me to sing along with it. 896 00:45:35,732 --> 00:45:37,818 And I couldn't believe it. 897 00:45:37,818 --> 00:45:41,071 I mean, I'm sitting with R. Kelly. 898 00:45:41,071 --> 00:45:45,576 I'm 17, and he's right here, singing. 899 00:45:45,576 --> 00:45:47,244 I just couldn't believe it. 900 00:45:47,244 --> 00:45:50,789 I don't even know what to say. 901 00:45:50,789 --> 00:45:53,792 And then he just said that, you know, I sound really great. 902 00:45:53,792 --> 00:45:56,128 Had a great look. 903 00:45:56,128 --> 00:45:59,798 He thought I could make it and he was gonna help me. 904 00:45:59,798 --> 00:46:03,302 And then he leaned over and kissed me. 905 00:46:05,387 --> 00:46:09,099 And I was really, uh, taken aback by that. 906 00:46:09,099 --> 00:46:12,644 I didn't know how to say no. 907 00:46:12,644 --> 00:46:17,316 All of a sudden, his tongue is in my mouth. 908 00:46:17,316 --> 00:46:19,359 This is my dream. 909 00:46:20,986 --> 00:46:23,947 How do I handle this? 910 00:46:23,947 --> 00:46:26,533 I wanted the dream so bad, 911 00:46:26,533 --> 00:46:30,287 but I knew it was gonna be something else. 912 00:46:35,501 --> 00:46:38,504 I knew it was gonna be something else. 913 00:46:46,178 --> 00:46:49,681 JERHONDA: I met R. Kelly by going to his trial, 914 00:46:49,681 --> 00:46:51,850 and I didn't want to believe that he was guilty. 915 00:46:51,850 --> 00:46:55,354 LIZZETTE: Sex with him always felt 916 00:46:55,354 --> 00:46:57,481 not natural. 917 00:46:57,481 --> 00:46:59,983 ANDREA: You fall in love with the charmer, 918 00:46:59,983 --> 00:47:01,527 and then slowly 919 00:47:01,527 --> 00:47:03,195 he lets the other one creep in. 920 00:47:03,195 --> 00:47:05,447 ♪ ♪ 921 00:47:05,447 --> 00:47:08,867 There's a difference between R. Kelly and Robert. 922 00:47:08,867 --> 00:47:12,579 R. Kelly's this fun, laughing, loving guy. 923 00:47:12,579 --> 00:47:14,331 But Robert... 924 00:47:14,331 --> 00:47:17,376 (echoing): is the devil, is the devil, is the devil. 925 00:47:17,376 --> 00:47:19,378 LEGEND: R. Kelly has brought 926 00:47:19,378 --> 00:47:21,004 so much pain to so many people. 927 00:47:21,004 --> 00:47:23,382 This sickness lived within him. 928 00:47:23,382 --> 00:47:24,841 Spotify is saying, basically, 929 00:47:24,841 --> 00:47:26,301 they're gonna, like, downgrade him. 930 00:47:26,301 --> 00:47:28,011 ANDREA: He's a control freak. 931 00:47:28,011 --> 00:47:29,721 MISS INFO: He's the puppet master. 932 00:47:29,721 --> 00:47:31,765 CRAIG: There's girls in every room. 933 00:47:31,765 --> 00:47:33,475 What the hell is going on? 934 00:47:33,475 --> 00:47:36,270 ♪ ♪ 935 00:47:36,270 --> 00:47:39,898 TARANA BURKE: This is really about an adult man who is using 936 00:47:39,898 --> 00:47:42,734 the power of his fame and wealth and whatever 937 00:47:42,734 --> 00:47:45,529 to systematically degrade black girls. 938 00:47:45,529 --> 00:47:48,740 JERHONDA: He became more abusive and more aggressive. 939 00:47:48,740 --> 00:47:51,368 KANIKA: He just started kicking me and slapping me. 940 00:47:51,368 --> 00:47:53,996 -(sobbing) -It's okay, baby. It's okay. 941 00:47:53,996 --> 00:47:55,998 ♪ ♪ 942 00:47:57,583 --> 00:47:59,585 D.A.: Mr. Kelly has been indicted. 943 00:47:59,585 --> 00:48:01,878 There's been a warrant issued for his arrest. 944 00:48:01,878 --> 00:48:03,422 A lot of people saw that pee tape. 945 00:48:03,422 --> 00:48:04,756 It was circulating in the streets. 946 00:48:04,756 --> 00:48:06,758 She was actually 14. 947 00:48:06,758 --> 00:48:09,094 ORONIKE: And he's urinating on her in her mouth. 948 00:48:09,094 --> 00:48:11,972 He was not thought of as guilty, 949 00:48:11,972 --> 00:48:13,974 even though the evidence was there. 950 00:48:13,974 --> 00:48:16,935 I should have never introduced her to him. 951 00:48:16,935 --> 00:48:20,188 I should have never introduced my family to him. 952 00:48:21,940 --> 00:48:23,859 MAN: There she go. 953 00:48:28,405 --> 00:48:29,448 MICHELLE: I said, "R. Kelly, 954 00:48:29,448 --> 00:48:30,907 "I want you to remember my name. 955 00:48:30,907 --> 00:48:32,117 Okay?" 956 00:48:36,496 --> 00:48:38,832 "Stay the (bleep) away from my daughter."