The Fulton County District Attorney’s office has opened an investigation into R. Kelly regarding allegations by women who claim they were held hostage at his former property in Georgia, TMZ reports. An attorney representing the parents of Joycelyn Savage, who currently lives with Kelly, confirmed to Spin that family members have been contacted by the district attorney’s office and are actively cooperating. The office offered Spin no comment.
Multiple women have claimed in recent years that they lived with Kelly under coercive and abusive circumstances. In a bombshell 2017 BuzzFeed News report, Savage’s parents described these living conditions as a “cult.” Lifetime’s newly released six-part documentary Surviving R. Kelly further explores these allegations and, according to TMZ, prompted the district attorney’s office investigation. “The documentary really speaks for itself,” Gerald Griggs, the Savage family’s attorney, told Spin.
The Johns Creek Police Department submitted to the Fulton County District Attorney a file on Kelly’s alleged misconduct after BuzzFeed’s report was published, but the office declined to open an investigation at the time. Also of note regarding Kelly’s relationship with local law enforcement, an anonymous former employee of the singer told Surviving R. Kelly that Chicago police warned the singer when officers planned to conduct wellness checks at his Chicago home, another site where he allegedly held women against their will. Spin has contacted a representative for Kelly and will update this post if they respond.
Read a timeline of Kelly’s sexual misconduct allegations here.
Update (6:00 ET): Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx said during a press conference that her office has been in contact with two families of alleged Kelly abuse victims and urged those with more information to come forward. It’s unclear whether there is an open investigation at this time.
