R. Kelly Made Over $20,000 For Empty Club Appearance In Illinois

Despite the backlash and controversy surrounding Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary, which detailed years of physical, mental and sexual abuse at the hands of R. Kelly, the self-proclaimed Pied Piper of R&B is still booking gigs. 

According to TMZ, Kelly raked in a whopping $22,000 for an hour appearance at an Illinois club over the weekend, after reports claimed he charged fans $100 a pop to bear witness. 

Just ahead of the Saturday night walk-thru at the Dirty South Lounge in Springfield, Illinois, Kelly took to Instagram to curb the criticisms over his paid gig. “I got an event to do tonight in Springfield, Illinois. So I want the media to take it easy on me, this is how I gotta get paid for right now. It’s a party so when you see me in the club with a couple of drinks in my hand, please..take it easy.” 

Afterwards, footage surfaced of the partially filled performance, in which Kelly sang the opening line of “Bump N’ Grind,” stayed for an hour, greeted fans and dipped with the money. Sources close to the situation said Kelly paid his booking agent $2,000 and kept the rest, leaving him with a total of $20,000. 

In the meantime, Kelly is still on the hook for child support to his ex-wife, as he awaits trial for ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse.