John Legend about R Kelly documentary: Don’t give a fuck about protecting a serial child rapist

John Legend is the highest profile musician to participate in Lifetime’s new R. Kelly documentary series 'Surviving R. Kelly'. Filmmaker and executive producer Dream Hampton, she had reached out to many of Kelly’s other contemporaries, including Mary J. Blige, Lil’ Kim, Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle, Lady Gaga, and JAY-Z, but all of them passed on the opportunity. But Legend was willing to participate: “To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn’t feel risky at all. I believe these women and don’t give a fuck about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision” (Consequence of Sound). One of the myriad issues to be explored in the docuseries will be R. Kelly’s relationship to the now-deceased pop star Aaliyah, who reportedly married Kelly in 1994 when he was 27 and she was only 15. Now, Aaliyah’s mother, Diane Haughton, is coming out ahead of the series to dispute a claim made by Jovante Cunningham, a former backup dancer for R. Kelly. In the docuseries, Cunningham alleges that she saw the two “having sex” in a tour bus. In a statement on Twitter Haughton declares Cunningham to be “a liar,” adding that she and her husband “were always on tour with [Aaliyah] and at interviews and every place she went throughout her entire career.” She added, “Whoever this woman is, I have never seen her before anywhere on planet earth, until now" (All Hip Hop).