More and more people are speaking up against R. Kelly’s misconduct against women. In a preview of Lifetime’s six-part docuseries Surviving R. Kelly, R. Kelly’s former backup singer, Jovante Cunningham, recalled the time she saw Kelly having a sexual encounter with Aaliyah.
People revealed that the show’s first episode speaks with Cunningham about the illegal activity that took place on Kelly’s tour bus in the 90s. “We were out on the road with Aaliyah,” she explained during the on-camera interview. “On a tour bus, there really aren’t many confined spaces. When you get on the bus there are bunks and so these bunks have little curtains you can pull at night if you don’t want anybody to see you sleeping. So it just so happened 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.”
When asked about the specifics of what she saw, Cunningham said that she saw “things that an adult should not be doing with a child.” “I can’t stress to you how people are still suffering behind things that went on 20 years ago,” she continued.
As you may know, Kelly and Aaliyah were rumored to have engaged in a secret relationship when she was 15 years old. The Chicago artist produced her debut studio album Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number in 1994. Rumors began swirling that they had secretly gotten married that same year with Kelly allegedly falsifying documents that claimed the late singer was 18.
Cunningham is one of many interviewees who details Kelly’s long history of misconduct. The six-part series will also features interviews from survivors as well as Kelly’s ex-wife, Andrea Kelly.
Surviving R. Kelly will air on Lifetime on Jan. 2, at 9/8C.
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