R&B legend Erykah Badu has come forward against claims by the producer of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” television show, who stated that Badu was asked to appear in the documentary series, but declined the offer. Badu has said that she was never asked to appear in the show, repeatedly asserting so in a series of tweets recently. One of the main subjects being brought up by Badu is the fact that she was never close with R. Kelly, stating online that she barely knew him personally and had never worked closely with the singer. Due to this, Erykah Badu has said she was never asked about the documentary series and had no reason to be in it in the first place.
Dream Hampton, the show’s producer, responded to these claims by stating that Erykah Badu was in fact asked via text message to appear in the documentary. The reasoning behind asking her, according to Hampton, was that in 2015 Badu praised Kelly for his work for the African American community at the Soul Train Awards. On stage as the host of the show, Badu introduced R. Kelly as her brother and stated he had done more for the black community than almost anybody. Remarks such as this are what producers say prompted them to reach out to Badu’s representation before she turned them down. This of course is completely false according to Badu herself.
These claims come just days after Erykah Badu mentioned R. Kelly at a recent concert in Chicago. At the show Badu took a moment out of her set to talk about the allegations the singer is facing and mention she is praying for him. At another point in the speech, Badu asked what would happen if one of the people R. Kelly assaulted were to come forward as an abuser, and how people would treat them. This was seemingly alluding to the opinion that R. Kelly was being unfairly attacked over these accusations. Fans had a large mix of reactions to Badu’s statements, and the singer had to defend herself for her comments on Twitter following the concert. Erykah Badu took to social media to state that she loved R. Kelly unconditionally, but that doesn’t mean she supports his poor choices. The singer wished for help for all involved and felt that her words at the concert were being misrepresented. However one wishes to look at the situation, the allegations and the situation surrounding R. Kelly right now is one of the most controversial topics in the music industry. One of Badu’s tweets regarding the situation can be found below.
Photo Credits: Mauricio Alvarado
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