Chicago, IL- R&B singer R. Kelley is in the midst of staging a comeback after his child pornography conviction in 2002, but an explosive report by Page Six alleges the singer has secretly faced dozens of sexual misconduct lawsuits in the years since he was accused of having sex with underage girls.
The New York Post’s Page Six reported earlier this week that the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer secretly settled a sexual harassment complaint with his former housekeeper for $100,000 in 2010. Sources say that the singer subjected the 36 year-old woman to groping an inappropriate comments during her employment which began in 2008.
A source close to Kelley told Page Six that the sexual harassment settlement is one among dozens of sexual misconduct suits the singer has faced. The source added that there is a growing dissent among Kelley insiders and more information about the singer’s inappropriate conduct with women is “starting to float to the surface about the millions he paid out over the years to a wide variety of women.”
The source’s comments back up what music writer Jim DeRogatis wrote in a piece for the Village Voice last December in which DeRogatis claimed there were “dozens of girls — not one, not two, dozens — with harrowing lawsuits.”
The controversy surrounding Kelley’s sexual proclivities reignited last fall when the singer headlined the Pitchfork Music Festival.
After a three-year investigation, Chicago police charged the singer with having sex with an underage girl and videotaping the act. He was able to negotiate a plea bargain and was convicted of child pornography in 2002. But DeRogatis said Kelley has been accused of having sex with underage girls since the 90s. Some of those victims sued Kelley for sexual misconduct including Tiffany Hawkins who settled her lawsuit for $250,000.
DeRogatis in the Village Voice interview said, “I think in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, rock music or pop culture people misbehaving and behaving badly sexually .. rare is the amount of evidence compiled against anyone apart from R. Kelly.”
Even though the singer has been dogged by sexual misconduct allegations for the two decades, he still has a huge fan base and his “Black Panties” album, which was released last year, hit number four on the Billboard charts within days of its release.
DeRogatis finds it troubling that in spite of Kelley’s inappropriate behavior, he remains a big name and his fans are not bothered by the singer’s reprehensible sexual behavior.
Sexual harassment is the least among the accusations the “Cookie” singer has faced, but is a serious matter nonetheless. Those who are prone to this type of harassment fail to realize the effects it has on their victims and often don’t see their behavior as wrong or inappropriate. But sexual harassment has far-reaching effects on the victim’s physical and mental health. When a man or woman is subjected to repeated harassment, they can retain a sexual harassment attorney help them put an end to the harassment and obtain a financial settlement.
