Controversial R&B singer R. Kelly is slated to take the stage Nov. 11 at the Mississippi Coliseum for a headlining concert – the same day a Jackson lawyer is seeking to depose him in a lawsuit claiming the vocalist had an affair with a local man’s wife.
Hinds County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Kenny Bryant filed the lawsuit in 2017 claiming Kelly and his wife, Asia Childress, had a sexual relationship in October 2012 and that the affair continued on and off over a five-year period.
“R. Kelly seduced Childress and encouraged their illicit relationship with various forms of communication, including live in-person rendezvous, phone calls, text messages, some of which were in the state of Mississippi,” according to the lawsuit.
Bryant and his wife divorced last year.
According to the lawsuit, Bryant had learned his wife had an intimate relationship with Kelly before they were married but that it had ended prior to the wedding. Childress then attended an R. Kelly concert in October 2012, a few months after she married Bryant, and the affair started.
Bryant’s attorney, Dorsey Carson, filed a renotice of deposition stating Kelly should be deposed at Carson’s Jackson law office Nov. 11 “beginning at 3 p.m. and continuing from day to day until completed.”
Kelly’s concert is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. with opening act Keyshia Cole.
“We’re trying to get him to show up here that Sunday,” Carson said, adding that he hasn’t heard whether Kelly is going to appear.
Kelly’s attorney on the matter, M. Craig Robertson of Ridgeland, filed an objection to the deposition citing outstanding motions that have yet to be decided.
Robertson, who did not respond to a Clarion Ledger request seeking comment, also has filed a motion to withdraw as Kelly’s attorney in the case. A hearing on that issue is set for Dec. 14.
Carson said if Kelly fails to appear for his deposition, then the court could levy a number of sanctions, including default judgment and payment of fees for attorneys.
Kelly is no stranger to sexual controversy.
The R&B singer has a decades-long history of alleged sexual misconduct, settling numerous lawsuits out of court. In 2002, he was acquitted in a child pornography case stemming from an anonymous sex tape. He continues to be embraced by some fans, critics and the music industry, and has never been found guilty of any charges related to sexual misconduct.
Although Kelly has admitted to liking younger girls and rough sex in his lyrics, he has denied he is a pedophile and pushed back against allegations that he operated a sex cult, as Buzzfeed reported in 2017.
According to reporter Jim DeRogatis, who interviewed the families of two young aspiring singers who have been involved with Kelly, the singer first stoked their musical ambitions, then began sexual relationships with them and moved them into his homes. At that point, they cut off contact with people back home, according to DeRogatis’ reporting.
Time’s Up, the organization devoted to helping women in the aftermath of sexual abuse, supports “Mute R. Kelly,” a social media campaign started in late 2017 calling for boycotts of his music and further investigation into his behavior.
Kelly has told both Variety and Rolling Stone that he supports the Time’s Up movement but denounces an “attempted public lynching of a black man.” His statement said he is “the target of a greedy, conscious and malicious conspiracy” to demean him.
Read the lawsuit here
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