Parents: R. Kelly Manipulating Daughters Sexually & Emotionally In 'Cult'

R. Kelly is holding at least six women against their will in a "cult," parents of these alleged victims, and former employees of the recording artist told Buzzfeed News.  

According to the news outlet, Kelly -- who faced charges of child pornography and assault, back in 2008 -- has manipulated the minds of these women so badly that some of them haven't spoken to the families since 2016. "[Kelly] is a master at mind control. ... He is a puppet master,” his former assistant Cheryl Mack said. Here's Kelly's process of doing this: First, he gets in contact with the young women -- some as young as 18 and 19 -- and builds a bond with them, as he promises to help them with their music careers. Then, once this bond is made, he invites that to live in one of his properties in Chicago and Atlanta. That's where they meet a 31-year-old "den mother" who "trains" them on how to please Kellz sexually. This "den mother" also happens to have best friends with the young girl in the sexually explicit videotape that the singer was tried for in 2008.

From there, Kelly takes away these women's cell phones and replaced them with phones that he buys them. He tells them that they should only be in communication with him. Kelly says that if they want to speak to anyone else, such as a family member, they have to get his permission first. The artist's former employees Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee added that these women must called Kelly "Daddy" and in turn, he calls them "babies." 

J. and Tim's 19-year-old daughter is one of these alleged victims Kelly is holding against their will. “In the back of our minds, we were thinking [my daughter] could be around him if I was with her,” J. said. “It didn’t really hit home. Even with the Aaliyah situation, now that I think about it, ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number’ ... but you don’t think about that. You grew up with the song, and you like the song.” 

When speaking about the last time they saw their child on Dec. 1, 2016, J. and Tim added: “It was as if she was brainwashed. [She] looked like a prisoner — it was horrible. I hugged her and hugged her. But she just kept saying she’s in love and [Kelly] is the one who cares for her. I don’t know what to do. I hope that if I get her back, I can get her treatment for victims of cults. They can reprogram her. But I wish I could have stopped it from happening.”

Mack, Jones, and McGee also say that the singer manipulate the women both emotionally and sexually. They claim that they've even seen Kelly slap one of the women in his "cult" after she spoke too nicely to a Subway sandwich restaurant's cashier. Apparently, this violated one of his "rules" that he set for them. “R. Kelly is the sweetest person you will ever want to meet,” McGee said. “But Robert is the devil.” 

“He left [the Florida woman] on the [tour] bus for, like, three days and she was not allowed to come out,” McGee added about more of Kelly's punishments. “He said she didn’t do her homework — that’s why she was punished — which was very confusing, because she had just graduated [high school] over the summer.”

The parents of at least three women who are residing with Kelly and getting abused are doing everything in their power to bring them back home. But, they're having difficulty because they are of legal ages and not "missing" in the eyes of the law because adults can reside wherever they wish, authorities say, no matter how untraditional there living circumstances can be. “I have not talked to my daughter in more than a year,” another mother named Theresa said about the countless times she's tried contacting her via calls phones and texts. “We’ve had deaths in the family, birthdays, and I haven’t heard from her and she hasn’t been here for any of it. I didn’t even hear from her on Mother’s Day. All I want to do is bring her home.”

Kelly's attorney issued a statement about these claims via email. It reads: “We can only wonder why folks would persist in defaming a great artist who loves his fans, works 24/7, and takes care of all of the people in his life. He works hard to become the best person and artist he can be. It is interesting that stories and tales debunked many years ago turn up when his goal is to stop the violence; put down the guns; and embrace peace and love. I suppose that is the price of fame. Like all of us, Mr. Kelly deserves a personal life. Please respect that.” 

His lawyer later added, on Kelly's behalf: “Mr. Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him. Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name.”

Read Buzzfeed's entire investigative piece about Kelly's "cult," which includes audio of his conversations with one his victims, here. 

Photo: Getty Images