Iyanla Vanzant is asking R. Kelly for forgiveness, delivering a personal apology to the incarcerated R&B singer and admitting that she believes she and other community elders failed him long before his criminal convictions.
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During an appearance on “The Jason Lee Show,” the spiritual adviser took responsibility for what she described as a failure to support Kelly during his years in the entertainment industry. Rather than discussing his downfall exclusively through the lens of his crimes, Vanzant addressed the singer directly, apologizing for not recognizing or responding to his personal struggles.“Forgive me as an elder in our community not being available to support you,” Vanzant said, addressing Kelly directly. “Forgive me for ignoring your pain. Forgive me for abandoning you.”
Her apology was particularly striking because Kelly is currently serving a combined 31-year federal prison sentence following convictions involving the sexual exploitation of women and underage girls.
Vanzant did not suggest that those convictions should be overturned or that Kelly should escape responsibility for his actions. Instead, she acknowledged what she believes was a collective failure to intervene when the singer needed guidance.
When Jason Lee questioned whether she genuinely felt that she had abandoned Kelly, Vanzant stood by her apology and expanded it beyond herself.
“Our entire community abandoned him. As an elder, I’m going to own it,” she said. “We did. We abandoned him.”
The exchange revealed how deeply Vanzant believes people who held positions of influence and authority could have made different choices while Kelly’s career was flourishing.
Her comments were not simply about the singer’s legal troubles. She questioned why adults, mentors, and people who benefited financially from his success apparently did not offer the type of personal assistance she believes he needed.
Kelly was one of R&B’s biggest stars for decades, building a catalog of hits and working with some of the music industry’s most recognizable entertainers. His commercial success continued for years despite serious allegations about his conduct.
Vanzant’s apology focused on the idea that fame and financial success do not necessarily mean someone is receiving the support needed to address emotional difficulties or other personal challenges.
She specifically referenced Kelly’s longstanding struggles with reading, questioning why people around him did not make his education a priority.
“The man couldn’t even read,” Vanzant said. “How many people made how much money on him and nobody had enough compassion for their brother to sit him down two, three times a week to teach him how to read?”
Kelly has previously discussed having difficulties with reading and writing, including challenges that affected his education. Vanzant suggested that the people who worked with him could have offered consistent assistance rather than concentrating solely on his ability to generate income.
She also connected those concerns to what she perceived as his emotional development.
“And then we want to know why his heart and his soul was so distorted and disturbed?” she asked.
Although Vanzant raised questions about his personal circumstances, she did not establish that Kelly’s literacy difficulties contributed to his criminal behavior. His convictions resulted from evidence presented in federal court about his exploitation of women and minors.
The spiritual adviser also extended her apology-themed discussion to Michael Jackson, arguing that people surrounding major entertainers have sometimes failed to intervene when troubling circumstances arise.
“We abandoned him. We abandoned Michael,” she continued. “People now will talk about they knew about whatever, whatever, and let it go on. The people that facilitated it, they let it go on.”
Jackson, who died in 2009, denied sexual abuse allegations and was acquitted of criminal charges in 2005. Unlike Kelly, he was not convicted in the cases brought against him. Vanzant did not name specific individuals responsible for the failures she described.
Her remarks about Kelly arrive years after public scrutiny of the singer intensified through Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary series in January 2019. The project featured women recounting allegations of sexual abuse, manipulation, and coercive control, bringing renewed attention to accusations that had surrounded him for decades.
Kelly had previously been acquitted in a 2008 Illinois child pornography trial, but subsequent federal prosecutions resulted in convictions.
In September 2021, a federal jury in Brooklyn found him guilty of racketeering and violations of the Mann Act. Prosecutors demonstrated how Kelly used his fame and a network of employees and associates to recruit, isolate, and sexually exploit women and underage girls.
He received a 30-year prison sentence in June 2022.
A separate federal trial in Chicago resulted in convictions for producing child sexual abuse material and enticing minors into sexual activity. In February 2023, he received a 20-year sentence, with 19 years running concurrently with his New York sentence and one additional year to follow.
Those sentences left him with a combined 31-year federal prison term.
Kelly has continued pursuing legal avenues for relief, including a July 2026 request for clemency from Donald Trump. Vanzant’s public apology was not presented as an endorsement of that effort.
Vanzant has spent much of her television career addressing trauma, forgiveness, family conflicts, and personal accountability. Her longtime OWN series, “Iyanla: Fix My Life,” regularly explored how unresolved personal experiences can influence people’s relationships and behavior.
