R&B singer R Kelly was arrested in New York on July 12 after a series of sexual abuse claims over two decades.
But who are his two girlfriends who continue to support him, and what have they said about his arrest?
R Kelly, 52, was born on January 8, 1967.
The singer’s real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly and he grew up in Chicago with his single mother, Joanne.
He got his breakthrough in 1989 when he took part in TV talent show Big Break, winning the $100,000 prize and going on to release his first album in 1992.
Since releasing his debut album, Born In The 90s, which was co-credited with Public Announcement, R. Kelly has released a further 11 solo studio albums.
His biggest hits include She’s Got That Vibe, Bump N’ Grind, I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition (Remix).
He has an estimated net worth of £790,680 – equivalent to roughly $1million – but had he not experienced numerous lawsuits over the years it is likely that the singer would be worth a lot more today.
He has sold 100 million records worldwide and has been nicknamed the ‘King of R&B’.
R Kelly also set up his own record label – Rockland Records – in 1998.
Joycelyn Savage, 23, and Azriel Clary, 21, are reported to be living with the R&B star at his apartment in Chicago.
They are said to have sat in the court house holding hands as R Kelly’s bond was being set by the judge on February 23, 2019.
Jocelyn Savage moved to Chicago with R Kelly in order to pursue a career in music at the age of 17.
She last had contact with her family when she was 19, since cutting off all ties with them.
Azriel’s father, Angelo Clary, praised Lifetime for creating the docu-series ‘Surviving R Kelly’, stating: “I love Lifetime for the platform they gave us to give awareness to bring this to an end.”
However, Angelo went on to say: “But they [Lifetime] have no clue how much we went through. They have no clue what I did to help my family.”
According to Azriel’s parents, R Kelly had promised to boost her music career.
When she turned 18, she stopped contacting them and they believe she was then entangled in the “sex cult” allegedly run by R Kelly.
Gerald Griggs, a lawyer acting on behalf of Savage’s family, has now said his clients are concerned the two women may be planning to kill themselves if it becomes clear the singer is not coming back, TMZreported.
He added that Savage’s parents, who claim the singer brainwashed their daughter, are “ready to reunite” and move on from “whatever happened in the past”, and that counsellors were on hand to help her.
Joycelyn and Azriel were reported to have been temporarily removed from Kelly’s Trump Tower apartment on Thursday after it was raided and sealed off by federal police, but have now been allowed to return.
The parents of Azriel Clary do not believe the women have made a suicide pact.
On July 15, 2019, TMZ posted a video recorded by the two women in which they deny being evicted from Kelly’s apartment in the Trump Tower in New York.
In the video, Azriel says: “We’re here at the Trump and we’ve been here for years. We move freely, we come and go freely. We actually just stepped out this morning.”
She added: “Do not believe everything that you hear.”
Speaking to TMZ back in 2017 on a video Skype call, Savage denied her family’s claims that she was part of a “sex cult”.
She said: “I’m 21, I’m about to be 22. I mainly want to say that I’m in a happy place with my life and I’m not being brainwashed or anything like that.
“It’s gotten to the point where it’s definitely gotten out of hand. I just want everybody to know—my parents and everybody in the world—I’m totally fine and I’m happy where I’m at. Everything is okay with me.”
In February 2019 R Kelly was charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
If convicted he faces three to seven years on each count, said Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx.
Then in May 2019 it was revealed he has been charged with 11 new counts of sex assault against a teen victim.
The Chicago Sun Times claims the charges carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
On July 12, 2019, Kelly was on suspicion of sex trafficking by New York cops – while still facing sexual abuse charges in Chicago.
He was cuffed by NYPD detectives and Homeland Security Investigators, law enforcement officials said.
