Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known professionally as R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Illinois, often referred to as King of R&B, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play. In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".
Work with Lady Gaga
_AMAs_2013_(6).jpg "Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly) AMAs 2013 (6).jpg (939 KB)")
Removal of Do What U Want
On January 10, 2019, Gaga issued a statement about working with R. Kelly after the release of the Lifetime series, Surviving R. Kelly, which documented the sexual abuse allegations against Kelly. Gaga has apologized for her 2013 collaboration with R. Kelly and vowed to support women who had been through abuse. As of the morning of January 11, the song was no longer playable on streaming services and is no longer available on iTunes. A version of the song featuring Christina Aguilera, released a few months after the original, remains on streaming services. The song was removed from new vinyl and CD pressings of the album in November 2019.
In the statement, she discussed the song’s creation and her impressions of it now:
| “ | I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously. What I am hearing about the allegations against R. Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible. As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and video at a dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. The song is called 'Do What U Want (With My Body),' I think it's clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I'd tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in— or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation—to seek help, and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we’ve been through. I can't go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men, and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault. I have demonstrated my stance on this issue and others many times throughout my career. I share this not to make excuses for myself, but to explain. Til it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels. But I do know how I feel now. I intend to remove this song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms and will not be working with him again. I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner. I love you. | ” |
—Lady Gaga, Twitter on January 10, 2019 | ||
