Mike Brooks
Audio By Carbonatix
While performing at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on Saturday night, Dallas R&B and neo-soul legend Erykah Badu made some controversial remarks regarding the widespread allegations of sexual assault against R. Kelly.
“I don’t know how everybody else feel about it, but I’m putting up a prayer right now for R,” Badu said. “I hope he sees the light of day, if he done all those things that we’ve seen on TV, and heard those ladies talk about. I hope he sees the light of day and comes forward.”
But attendees did not take too kindly to this statement. In response to the boos that erupted from the audience, Badu retorted, “What y’all say, fuck him? That’s not love. That’s not unconditional love.”
Erykah Badu received some pushback after telling a crowd of her fans that she was praying for R. Kelly.
Mike Brooks
She continued, “What if one of the people that was assaulted by Kelly grows up to be an offender, we gonna crucify them?”
As more unease continued to fester following this, she took to Twitter on Sunday night to make the following statement.
I love you. Unconditionally.
That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices.
I want healing for you and anyone you have hurt as a result of you being hurt. Is that strange to you ?
That’s all I’ve ever said. Anything else has been fabricated or taken out of context. – eb— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 21, 2019
Kelly, a singer and record producer, is accused of being a sex abuser. He illegally married singer Aaliyah when she was 15 and he was 27, and in 2002 there was a sex tape that purportedly showed Kelly having sex with and urinating on a minor.
This and other details of R. Kelly’s alleged abuse were documented on Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly, which also interviewed a Dallas radio host who says she was a victim of Kelly for several years.
Many people have distanced themselves from Kelly since the docuseries premiered, including Lady Gaga, who apologized for working with Kelly on the song “Do What U Want (With My Body).” She removed it from all streaming services.
Last week, record company RCA dropped Kelly from its label.
