R. Kelly's Alleged 'Cult' Victim Denies Being Held Hostage
Yesterday, R. Kelly was accused of abusing women in a “cult.” The R&B singer has since refuted the claims and now, Joycelyn Savage, one of the women who is allegedly being held against her will, is denying the allegations.
“I mainly want to say that I’m in a happy place with my life,” she told TMZ. “I’m not being brainwashed or anything like that. It just came to a point where it’s definitely gotten out of hand. I just want everybody to know — my parents and everybody in the world — that I am totally fine. Everything is okay with me.”
The 21-year-old went on to claim that she is “not at all” being held against her will. “I’ve never been feeling hostage or anything like that, in that nature,” she said. “Never.”
This goes against what Savage’s family has said. According to TMZ, Joycelyn’s parents were part of the BuzzFeed News report that uncovered these new allegations. Parents of aspiring singers said that R. Kelly manipulated their daughters to run away and live with him. Former associates Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee corroborated some of their allegations on the record.
Mack, a former personal assistant to Kelly, called the R&B singer a “master of mind control” and a “puppet master.” Jones and McGee, who say that they lived with and had sexual relationships with Kelly, also spoke about their experiences. Jones, for instance, said that Kelly physically and verbally punishes women for breaking his “rules.”
Parents in the article say that they have not been allowed to contact their daughters, who are above the legal age of consent. In her new TMZ interview, Savage confirms that she has not spoken with her parents “on and off” in approximately five months. “I haven’t really spoken to them ’cause the very thing they’ve been causing,” she said. “Saying I’ve been hostage and being held against my will…I’m very heartbroken of what’s going on with this situation.”
Following the BuzzFeed News report, Joycelyn’s parents Tim and Jonjelyn Savage held their own press conference, in which they outlined their thoughts on the case. “My daughter is severely brainwashed,” said Jonjelyn. “It’s to the point where she says anything that he asks her to say. She’s not the same Joycelyn that we knew.”
During the press conference, Jonjelyn also revealed more information about Kelly’s alleged acts. “He had rooms set up like a hotel for the girls to stay in,” Jonjelyn said. “He also had a black room where they do different sexual acts in.”
McGee also appeared at the press conference, where she said that she witnessed many things that she did not agree with while living with Kelly. “I’ve always been a fan of R. Kelly from day one,” she said. “I was always defending him, until I got behind closed doors.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6RELLuCA2c
McGee, who said she knew R. Kelly for three years, went on to outline more of the conditions that she says Kelly makes the women he lives with follow. “You have to ask for permission to shower, to eat, permission to go from one room to the next,” she said. “He really manipulates your mind because of who he is and his fame.”
During the press conference, Tim Savage was asked if he has any evidence to prove that his daughter is being held against her will. “That evidence is going to appear within the next 2-3 days,” he said. “It will appear on another time.”
Yesterday, R. Kelly refuted these allegations through his lawyer, Linda Mensch. “Mr. Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him,” she said. “Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name.”
In her TMZ interview, Joycelyn Savage refused to reveal where she currently lives. “I wouldn’t want to speak on that,” she said. When asked if she is “living with roommates” or if she is “free to go,” she replied: “I wouldn’t speak on that as well.”