While many of past collaborators remain silent on what appears to be the reckoning of decades’ worth of allegations against R. Kelly, John Legend, who declined an opportunity to work with the singer-songwriter, is maintaining his stance. On Tuesday, he spoke with NBC News’ TODAY about the new charges of sex abuse Kelly is facing, crediting the recent Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly with the renewed interest in Kelly’s history of alleged abuse.
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“I’m so glad that the documentary was made,” Legend, who appeared in the instantly viral film, told Today. “I’m so glad that the victims got to have their voices heard, and I think them having their voices heard, this story being retold—because it’s been told before. But I think being retold through that medium really brought the issue to a lot of people’s attention, and I think it inspired the law enforcement to move on some things that they weren’t moving on before.”
After being indicted last week, Kelly is currently facing 10 new counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. After posting $100,000 bail on Monday, he is awaiting his next court date on March 22.
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” Legend said. “I think a lot of us kind of tolerated or looked the other way on that issue for a long time, and a lot of people were being hurt for decades, and we looked away for too long.”
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