The R in R&B is in the news again. This time because his manager has been accused of trying to intimidate witnesses who accused him of sexual abuse. This will probably add additional weight to prosecutors’ claims of gross misconduct and maybe even put an end to the singer and songwriter’s glorious career.
In a fresh twist to the tale of sodomy, R Kelly’s accusers are suing him and his manager for using intimidation tactics to silence them. They are accused of calling in a shooting threat to a theater showing a documentary about the singer, at the time of his investigation.
Lizette Martinez, Lisa Van Allen and Faith Rogers say they are convinced that R Kelly and his “inner circle” actively attempted to silence them, using tactics that included harassment, bribery, and threat of gun violence — including calling in a shooting threat on the Neuehouse theater during the premiere of “Surviving R. Kelly” on Dec. 4, 2018.
The accusers say that the threats began even before the Neuehouse Theater event. They claim Kelly’s manager, Donnell Russell, had already been issuing threats aimed at preventing the premiere of documentaries titled “Surviving R. Kelly” from taking place. They, therefore, claim that the shooting threat was the work of Donnell Russell and his friend R Kelly and intend to prove this in court.
It is not yet clear whether Donnell Russell is the main subject of these fresh accusations or whether this will also land on R Kelly, which could potentially further extend his conviction. However, we can confirm that these fresh accusations have been brought before the court.
If the allegations are true, then it could possibly turn out horribly for the Singer because his team was fully aware of legal ways of stopping the documentaries from showing: they had filed a cease and desist letter, in a bid to stop the documentary, and could have pursued further legal avenues, but evidently went nuclear by employing “terroristic” tactics in a “matter of hours” after using legal means.
Remember that R Kelly, 54, has been convicted of carrying out perverted sexual activities involving minors. Allegations say that it was not just R Kelly; many of his close friends and associates participated in these fantastic sexual perversions. However, how much of this is accurate and how big the alleged sex ring remains to be seen.
R Kelly’s manager Russell, 46, was arrested last year for allegedly orchestrating of directly making the anonymous phone call threatening the Neuehouse theater on Dec. 4, 2018. The theater was subsequently evacuated, as people fled in panic, thus jeopardizing the showing of the documentary. The case is set to be tried, with prosecutors saying that the event has severely traumatized the victims who were “understandably terrified and exposed.”
Aside from the threat of physical harm, R Kelly’s party has been accused of trying to intimidate and bribe the accusers. Interestingly, some within R Kelly’s camp have already started to cooperate with the prosecuting team; Richard Arline and Michael Williams, who was accused along with Donnell Russell, have already pleaded guilty to allegations of intimidation and bribery.
The suit will come down heavy on many within R Kelly’s circles, whether or not they participated in the sex scandals because, according to the suit, they knew about Kelly’s abuse of women but didn’t do anything to help them. They obviously chose R Kelly’s “brand, name, reputation, image, and continued fame, success, and financial benefit” over the lives and well-being of the women.
The suit also states that these men promoted the said abuse of women by acting to “intimidate, silence, and threaten” the women who spoke out about R Kelly’s nefarious activities. To summarize, they are charged with aiding and abetting R Kelly’s behavior because of the financial benefits they got from the singer.
It is not clear whether anybody within R Kelly’s circle will be spared these allegations because the prosecution claims that they had every opportunity to lend a hand before the matter got to court, so as to put an end to Kelly’s abominable activities, but choose not to because they wanted to continue getting money from the singer. The case is certainly going to look like a Mafia-style organization, and it seems like the accusers were lucky to have survived the ordeal.
Whether R Kelly was fully aware of these acts of intimidation and bribery, which were obviously carried out to protect his name and brand, remains to be seen. Still, prosecutors claim that his manager Donnell Russell designed and directed these schemes. They also say that R Kelly’s companies operated in a manner in which criminal misconduct was normal and in which such attempts to cover up wrongdoing was an everyday practice.
A spokesperson for R Kelly is quoted as having said, “these are just allegations, and when the case gets to court, the public will find that R Kelly had no hand in hand in directing intimidation or harassment” against any potential witness or anybody else.
Donnell Russell’s lawyers have not released any statement yet. Although there is evidence of intimidation, it remains to be seen how much he knows of it and also whether or not the prosecuting team will be able to substantiate these claims.
This fresh suit will certainly cast the music empire of Donnell Russell and R Kelly in bad light, and it remains to be seen how much of the bad publicity their company can take. R Kelly’s music career has been overshadowed by these accusations and the subsequent investigation, for a number of years now, and these events have sent ripples all over the music industry; some calling it a witch hunt, and other people being in support.
