Washington D.C. [USA]: Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding R. Kelly, Lady Gaga is facing pressure to condemn him.Gaga, who had at one point during her career defended her 2013 collaboration with the American singer-songwriter, is now being pressured into taking a stand against him, reports CNN. This comes in the wake of a recent documentary series that chronicles allegations of abuse, predatory behaviour and paedophilia against the ‘I Admit’ singer. However, it is important to note that Kelly has vehemently denied all the allegations directed towards him.
Gaga’s single ‘Do What U Want,’ which featured vocals by Kelly, spiked controversy when it was released back in 2013, which was about five years after the singer had stood trial in Chicago on child pornography charges in 2008. Kelly was acquitted of charges. The ‘shallow’ singer had addressed the controversy in a press conference in Japan in 2013. “R. Kelly and I have sometimes very untrue things written about us, so in a way, this was a bond between us. That we were able to say, the public, they can have our bodies, but they cannot have our mind or our heart. It was a really natural collaboration,” she had said.
Earlier this week, ‘The Karen Hunter Show’ featured Dream Hampton, ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ documentary series producer, on the show. The producer, during the interview, stated that she wished Gaga could have featured in her documentary. “I wanted to know how Lady Gaga could be on ‘SNL’ with him as someone who advocates for domestic abuse survivors and was, you know, had this ridiculous performance with him on ‘SNL’,” said Hampton.
Gaga, who has been a staunch supporter of #MeToo and Time’s Up movements against sexual harassment, is being asked to speak up against Kelly by the social media users. Many have taken their request regarding the same to Twitter. “I would like to know what @ladygaga, who has been a firm advocate of abuse survivors, has to say about the R Kelly fiasco and why she collaborated with him after years of abuse allegations were made against him. It’s not a surprise to us. It shouldn’t be to her either,” a user tweeted.
“As much as I love lady gaga, I’m so disappointed in her for not appearing in the surviving r. kelly docu. she’s worked with him as recently as 2015 and is such a big “advocate” for survivors and she had nothing to say? something isn’t adding up,” wrote another @ladygaga as a survivor, your words condemning @rkelly would mean the world. but how can you be so selective with who is worthy of justice? black girls lives are being ruined by the man you refuse to condemn. you’ve lost my trust and the trust of survivors around the world. Gaga has, in past, openly supported sexual assault victims. She even went on to share her own story as a rape survivor in 2014. been outspoken in the past in her support of sexual assault victims and went public as a rape survivor in 2014.
