*Yet another R. Kelly accuser has come forward for the first time to speak the “truth” about how she was allegedly attacked by the musician.
Lanita Carter gave an emotional interview with CBS News and claims she is one of the four accusers whose accusations led to Kelly’s arrest in Chicago in February.
“I was sexually abused by him and I live after that. I try to pick up the pieces every day,” Carter told CBS correspondent Jericka Duncan during their discussion that aired on “CBS This Morning” on Thursday.
“It’s hard but I know I’ll get through it. I’m not ashamed of my past anymore.”
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NEW: Lanita Carter, who, until now, was an anonymous accuser in the #RKelly criminal sexual abuse case, is speaking publicly for the first time about an alleged assault by the R&B singer.
“I’ve been carryin’ this since 2003.”More Thurs on @CBSThisMorninghttps://t.co/wrPu0qQ2QZ pic.twitter.com/OoAFxWunTl
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 27, 2019
Carter — who was 24 at the time — said she worked as Kelly’s “hair-braider for two years” when he assaulted her 15 years ago by trying to force her to give him oral sex. She claims he then masturbated and spat in her face.
She submitted her shirt for DNA testing and Cook County prosecutors matched it to the R&B star.
“I’ve been carrying this since 2003. I have had to sit on a public bus and watch public conversation: ‘Did you hear about what they did with R. Kelly? They need to leave that man alone.’ And I can’t stand up for myself. I finally realized: I don’t wanna be this victim. I don’t wanna be a part of this.”
Caters says she hopes coming forward will help her find closure.
In 2009 R. Kelly released a song about having sex with a woman who braids his hair. “Zig-zag braids, got em looking like spaghettay,” the lyrics said.
“That was one of the hair styles that I was known for doing, that I never did on him,” Carter said. https://t.co/jPi4fNxSkH pic.twitter.com/6gCVApidHt
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 28, 2019
“When I finally realized I don’t want to be this victim, I don’t want to be a part of this, every time I tried to pick myself up again, I felt like something on the news brought me back to what I thought I swept under the rug,” she said.
“Today I say: no more. You can talk about me. You can not like what I’m sayin’ about your favorite singer. But this is my life… This is my truth. This is what I have. If I die tomorrow, I know that I told the truth.”
She added, “I know that I want to be the best person I could be. I know that I want to help people. If it’s anybody that want to speak truth, it’s hard when it’s a celebrity. It’s not easy. It’s not easy if it wasn’t a celebrity. It makes it 10 times worse.”
R. Kelly was hit with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse in February, with three of the accusers believed to have been underage at the time of the alleged sexual assaults.
Carter says Gayle King’s “CBS This Morning” interview with the singer gave her the courage to go public with her story. “It’s actually the reason that I’m here.”
“[R. Kelly] pulled my braid down by him. And he say, ‘Suck it for daddy, suck it for daddy.’ And I said, ‘No.’ And I did like this. And he just started going, [spitting noises]. He did it, like, six times” — Lanita Carter https://t.co/jPi4fNxSkH pic.twitter.com/e0GDBxTCZo
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 28, 2019
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