R. Kelly Threatens to Sue Lifetime Over 'Surviving R. Kelly' Docuseries
R. Kelly is threatening to sue Lifetime over their “Surviving R. Kelly” docuseries.
Kelly’s lawyer, Brian Nix, has issued a letter warning the network not to air its documentary that paints the singer as a sex cult leader. Nix claims the doc is “packed with lies” and has threatened to file a federal lawsuit if the network doesn’t recant.
Despite the legal threat, Lifetime has decided to move forward with its plans to air its six-hour documentary starting tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
“Lifetime has always been a brand that champions women’s stories,” the network tells TMZ.
In the documentary, multiple women from Kelly’s inner circle come forward about sexual, mental, and physical abuse accusations against the 51-year-old R&B icon, who is described as a “monster” and “puppet master.” “Surviving R. Kelly” includes over 50 interviews with John Legend, singer Sparkle, Wendy Williams, and civil rights activist Tarana Burke, as well as Kelly’s ex-wife Andrea Kelly, ex-girlfriend Kitti Jones, and brothers Carey and Bruce.
Kelly’s camp claims the women made false allegations to become famous. His lawyer reportedly has two audio recordings that show Lifetime knew “some of the girls are lying, but that the budget was too high to turn back now.”
The mother of Aaliyah, who was married to Kelly, is also speaking out amid allegations made in the documentary by former backup singer/dancer Jovante Cunningham, who says she witnessed Kelly having sex with an underaged Aaliyah on a tour bus.
“We were all laying in our bunks and the curtains are open, everybody’s communicating, laughing, when the [room] door flew open on the bus. Robert was having sex with Aaliyah,” says Cunningham, who claims she saw “things that an adult should not be doing with a child.”
ATT: 🚨#TeamAaliyah #Aaliyah ‘s Mom , Diane has made a statement in regards to the lies from the #Lifetime #RKelly documentary coming out. PLEASE RT to make this go viral! We can’t let @lifetimetv lie on @AaliyahHaughton this way! If you need the quote tweet me. Let’s do this! ✊ pic.twitter.com/0sOnGV0g6q
— Aaliyah For MAC (@AaliyahForMac) January 2, 2019
Aaliyah’s mother Diane Haughton took to social media to deny the allegations. “My husband and I were always on tour with [Aaliyah] and at interviews and every place she went throughout her entire career,” says Haughton. “Whoever this woman is, I have never seen her before anywhere on planet earth, until now.”
“Surviving R. Kelly” will air in three installments starting tonight through Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.