*John Legend took to social media late Thursday to comment on his appearance in Lifetime’s docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired on Thursday night.
In the episode set for Saturday, Legend blasts Kelly, saying: “R. Kelly has brought so much pain to so many people.”
He also hit up Twitter late Thursday to say he supports the women who shared their experience with Kelly.
“To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn’t feel risky at all. I believe these women and don’t give a f*** about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision.”
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He continued:
“Also I’m happy to support the work of people like my friends at @ALongWalkHome who have been speaking out on behalf of the survivors for a long time.”
Legend also thanked the series director and producer dream hampton on Twitter, writing: “We should all thank my friend @dreamhampton for her very necessary work to create #SurvivingRKelly. These survivors deserved to be lifted up and heard. I hope it gets them closer to some kind of justice.”
Legend was the only A-lister who agreed to appear in the docuseries.
“It was incredibly difficult to get people who had collaborated (artistically) with Kelly to come forward,” hampton told the Detroit Free Press. “We asked Lady Gaga. We asked Erykah Badu. We asked Celine Dion. We asked Jay-Z. We asked Dave Chappelle — people who have been critical of him. That makes John Legend even more of a hero for me.”
In another interview with Shadow and Act, she explained why they declined to speak about Kelly.
“I mean, most people just don’t want to touch it,” she said. “I remember Ahmir [“Questlove” Thompson] was like, ‘I would do anything for you but I can’t do this.’ It’s not because they support him, it’s because it’s so messy and muddy. It’s that turning away that has allowed this to go on.”
The 51-year-old singer has been accused of molesting several young women over the past 2 decades. He was acquitted of 21 charges of child pornography in 2008.
Since part one of the doc aired Thursday night, a rep for R. Kelly Spotify tells The Blast that his streams have increased 16%.
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