John Legend was a guest on NBC’s Today, where he discussed the recent developments regarding R. Kelly. Kelly turned himself into authorities on Friday (Feb. 22) amidst charges of sexual abuse, which culminates over 25 years of allegations against him.
“I’m so glad that the victims got to have their voices heard, and I think them having their voices heard, this story being retold, because it’s been told before,” Legend, who was featured on the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, said. “But I think being retold through that medium really brought the issue to a lot of people’s attention, and I think it inspired the law enforcement to move on some things that they weren’t moving on before.”
Kelly was released on $100,000 bail of his reported $1 million bond on Monday (Feb. 26). He’s being charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and if found guilty, he faces a potential maximum of 70 years in prison. His next scheduled court appearance is Mar. 22, and he plead not guilty to the charges.
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” Legend continued. “I think a lot of us kind of tolerated or looked the other way on that issue for a long time… and a lot of people were being hurt for decades, and we looked away for too long.”
“I think it’s been a long time coming…we looked away for too long…his victims deserve justice.” @JohnLegend on R. Kelly pic.twitter.com/3M4GM3oD1y
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 26, 2019
