*The producer behind “Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly” docu-series has responded to Drea Kelly’s threats of a lawsuit over the misleading trailer for the follow-up doc.
We previously reported… Lifetime has set a January 2 premiere date for its sequel documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning,” which is the follow-up to the Emmy-nominated “Surviving R. Kelly.”
The new doc will air on three consecutive nights, and feature interviews with new survivors, supporters, psychologists and cultural and legal experts.
But Kelly’s ex-wife wants no part of it.
Drea explained on TMZ Live that she intends to sue the network for including her in the “Surviving Part II” trailer after she refused to participate in the doc.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Howard University Receives $4 Million from Hopper-Dean Foundation
Producer Brie Miranda Bryant hopes she will reconsider her possible lawsuit.
“I hope she feels differently after she sees it,” Bryant said when talking about “Surviving R. Kelly Part Two” with Page Six. “The pieces that were in the trailer are from her interview in part one. She did not sit for Part Two.”
As noted by TMZ, the trailer shows a clip of Drea from the original docuseries that aired in early 2019. She says the new trailer (see above) is misleading because it makes it look like she was involved with the project.
“When they brought the idea to me I let them know in no way, shape, form, or fashion would I be a part of it,” Drea said. “They reached out to my children without my permission. They reached out to my family without my permission… But what’s more important about this is I’m not happy with the aftercare and how the victims were handled throughout this entire process.”
Bryant refuted her claims, telling Page Six that there were licensed professionals on set to help the survivors.
“We had two therapists who were able to consult with the survivors and participants after every interview who were there throughout the duration [of production],” Bryant said. “We have, it may have hit 23 advocacy groups that have helped us during the making of the series to make sure we were staying within proper parameters.”
“Even decisions in terms of how we speak of these women; ‘are you a survivor’ or ‘are you a victim?’ These are conversations we really had to have,” she continued. “First and foremost, it’s about the survivors feeling heard and getting them the justice they feel that they need.”
A representative for Lifetime co-signed Bryant’s remarks.
“After the doc aired, Drea chose to not participate in many of the other things the other survivors decided to do that we continually invited them to partake in — most recently, we had invited the others survivors (as well as Drea but she declined) to attend The Wrap Women’s Event where there was a tribute to them for sharing their stories,” the rep said. “We also have a coalition of organizations under Stop Violence Against Women of non-profit partners all who offer resources, information, and services to our survivors, as well as viewers at large.”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
