*Drea Kelly recently opened up about why she continues to use her ex-husband R. Kelly’s last name, even after their divorce.
In a conversation with television producer Carlos King, the famed choreographer addressed critics who compare her to Tina Turner’s choice to retain her name after her separation from Ike Turner. As Vibe reports, while Tina is widely recognized for building her legacy with that name, some have questioned whether Drea’s situation is comparable.
“You don’t even know what I do!”, Drea declared. “You don’t even know what my profession is, and at the end of the day, what do I bring to the table if I am the table?”
She added, “I brought a whole womb. I birthed children, so for women to even say something like that is sad to me…and because you can’t clock what I do, because you haven’t done your research, you think it’s okay to go on the internet and say, ‘she don’t do nothing, Tina Turner did something,’ the only difference between me and Tina Turner is she sang on the stage with Ike, I danced on one with Robert.”
Kelly firmly stated that she doesn’t “give a f**k what you feel” about her decision to keep the name.
“At the end of the day, I earned this name in blood, sweat and tears. It’s my kids’ name…when all the sh*t hit the fan, how would you feel if your name is Brown and your kids name is Brown, and your family goes through something, and you tell your kids, ‘Oop! You a Brown by yourself, I’m out!’ No, if my kids gotta go through it as Kelly, they mama going through it as Kelly.”
Drea continued, “The last name Kelly gets 20/20 to follow me, the last name Kelly gets me on CNN to talk about domestic violence awareness and be an advocate. The last name Kelly allowed me to go on military bases and talk about abuse…and here’s the real gag; Boo, if my name wasn’t Kelly you wouldn’t even care…’cuz Ms. Jones is going through the same thing I’m going through right now, Ms. White is going through it, Ms. Anderson is going through it, but ya’ll dont care about it, ya’ll not on her page commenting, you’re not trying to be an advocate, you’re being nosey. You know why? Because my last name is Kelly.”
Watch her conversation with Carlos in the clip above.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Drea Kelly’s Heart Feels Like it ‘is in Two Places’ Following R. Kelly Verdict | VIDEO
