One month after BuzzFeed published a report alleging that R&B singer R. Kelly was holding women in an abusive “cult,” another woman has come forward with allegations against him. According to BuzzFeed, a woman named Jerhonda says she had a sexual relationship with Kelly when she was underage. Kelly has denied wrongdoing, and Baller Alert has not independently confirmed her account.
Jerhonda told BuzzFeed that she first met Kelly in 2008, when she was 15, during his trial on child pornography charges. He was acquitted. She said she attended as a fan and defended him to reporters at the time.
She said that about a year later, after she turned 16, she was invited to a party at his home in suburban Olympia Fields, Illinois, and that the relationship began after that. She claims Kelly later told her to say she was 19 if anyone asked, and that she was mistreated when she broke the rules of his house.
Jerhonda said she stopped seeing Kelly in January 2010 after a physical altercation. She told BuzzFeed she then hired an attorney, reached a settlement, and stayed quiet until now. She said she decided to speak out because she wants to help women who are still around him.
“Kelly needs to be stopped,” she told BuzzFeed.
This story is being reported as it stood in August 2017. The claims are allegations made by Jerhonda to BuzzFeed.