Lifetime’s highly-anticipated ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ aired its first installment on Thursday night despite R. Kelly’s legal threats and people took to Twitter far and wide to comment.
via Complex:
The docu-series explores the disturbing sexual abuse allegations against the 51-year-old entertainer, and includes more than 50 interviews with everyone from Kelly’s brothers to his former collaborators to his alleged victims.
“These are women who lived in his house and studio for years, and have the same story about being forbidden to talk,” the series’ executive producer/showrunner dream hampton told Complex. “So once those women become free of those barriers, they’re looking to connect with each other, to know that they weren’t the only ones.
“Those women are from different decades,” she continued “[We had to] find women from different decades, who had near-identical stories of being denied food, denied movement in the house, denied conversation with other human beings. Physical abuse, again and again.”
Audiences had mixed reactions to the first couple of installments: Disgust, disbelief, and outrage were some of the most commonly expressed emotions, while others applauded hampton and her team for shedding light on this horrific story.
Check out some celebrity reactions to ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ below.
We should all thank my friend @dreamhampton for her very necessary work to create #SurvivingRKelly. These survivors deserved to be lifted up and heard. I hope it gets them closer to some kind of justice.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) January 4, 2019
To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn't feel risky at all. I believe these women and don't give a fuck about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) January 4, 2019
#SurvivingRKelly is the #1 trending topic on @twitter. Amen. Speaking truth to power.
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 4, 2019
If you look back at the reporting during the R Kelly-Aaliyah marriage, it was a massive failure. Zero understanding of sexual abuse. Nobody treated this seriously. It was a collective shrug #SurvivingRKelly
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) January 4, 2019
True story: I interviewed Aaliyah in 1995, as an intern for the Detroit Free Press. I asked her if she was married to R Kelly, and she denied it. What I didn’t ask her is if she had ever been married to him. Even when she answered, I didn’t believe her.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) January 4, 2019
Did this fool, R Kelly’s brother, say Robert likes young women and he likes older women, so what’s the big deal? That’s the dumbest ish in the world. You ain’t supposed to like underage girls! #SurvivingRKelly
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 4, 2019
“There were a few women that he loved. Aaliyah was one of them.” AALIYAH WAS NOT A WOMAN! #SurvivingRKelly
— Jamilah Lemieux (@JamilahLemieux) January 4, 2019
bro, this Aaliyah segment is really fucking tough to watch… FUCK man.
so many people failed her.
my heart is breaking all over again….— BMC, The Marathon Man. (@bryanmichaelcox) January 4, 2019
Let me clear something up…
JUST BECAUSE WHITE PEOPLE DO THIS SHIT DOESN’T MEAN WE DON’T CALL IT OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY#SurvivingRKelly
— L. Joy Williams (@ljoywilliams) January 4, 2019
