*R. Kelly may have believed he could fly back in the day, but the former hitmaker has “grade schooler’ issues that have kept him from soaring to greater heights.
Court documents dated November 2, 2023, shed further light on Kelly’s reasons for denying any responsibility regarding a million-dollar lawsuit filed against him. Among the revelations is the “Bump and Grind” vocalist admitting he can’t read beyond the level of a “grade schooler.”
“I would not have been able to understand the lawsuit or distinguish it from the many other legal documents that I received. It all looks the same to me,” Kelly stated. “I rely on my lawyers to explain things to me because I cannot read or understand words beyond that of a grade-schooler.”
The revelation marks the latest development surrounding the lawsuit, which involved accusations that Kelly and his former manager Donnell Russell attempted to stop the 2018 New York City screening of the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” with a mass shooting threat. In August 2023, a judge awarded $10.5 million to the six women behind the suit, reports The Blast.
Citing the R. Kelly affidavit, The Blast noted the singer’s lengthy rebuttal of the charges from the women. According to Kelly, he did not know the suit, given his incarceration in Butner FCI, North Carolina.
Despite his lawyers giving him legal paperwork surrounding the situation, Kelly maintains he is unfamiliar with ever receiving the lawsuit. It was only through a friend that Kelly knew about the $10.5 million judgment.
“During this very confusing and chaotic time, I do not recall receiving the lawsuit in this case. I did not willfully ignore any lawsuit. I was transferred to the MCC Chicago in early July 2022 to face trial in the Northern District of Illinois,” Kelly explained, adding, “I never received any documents related to this Don Russell lawsuit in Chicago. I don’t know if anyone tried to send me mail related to this lawsuit, but it was common that my mail did not reach me. If I had notice of this lawsuit, I would have defended it.”
Since his 2021 conviction, Kelly touched on his emotional state and was placed on suicide watch. With the pending criminal cases against him in different state courts, coupled with being sued multiple times, he claims it was impossible to keep up with all of his legal drama.
In addition, Kelly stated he should not be responsible for his fallout with Russell, in light of his not knowing about their issues. The entertainer emphasized he had nothing to do with Russell in 2018, claiming Russell had his own company and did not work for him in any capacity.
Regarding the alleged shooting threat, R. Kelly denied his involvement in the situation., writing: “I had no knowledge that Don Russell was trying to stop the screening of the Lifetime show in New York, he wrote in his rebuttal. “I did not ask him to do so. I had no advance knowledge that he was going to call in some type of threat. If he called in a threat to stop the screening in New York, he did that for his own reasons.”
Kelly claimed the officials conspired with Tasha K to reveal his activities while he was in Chicago police custody. Private calls, visitor logs and email correspondence were among the leaked information Kelly claimed dated as far back as 2019. In his eyes, the prison officially sold his activities to Tasha K for money, giving the blogger more than enough unflattering details to share about him online. As a result, the “You Remind Me” crooner sued the group for damages. The lawsuit claimed that the situation with the officials and Tasha K was an invasion of Kelly’s privacy, giving him severe emotional distress and significantly harming his reputation.
Kelly’s lawsuit arrived months after he received an additional 20 years in prison from a Chicago court. In his suit, the singer dinged the U.S. government for negligence under claims the government allowed prison personnel to have access to his private information and share it. Tasha denied Kelly’s claims of her associating with prison officials. Stating she was not involved in any illegal activity relating to the singer and did not conspire with anyone to get information about him.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB: R. Kelly Says He’s Not Responsible for $10.5M Judgment to Six Women