Isaiah Washington Says Aaliyah Was “Mature Beyond Her Age”; Believes She Was “In Control” Of R. Kelly Relationship

Actor Isaiah Washington has insinuated that Aaliyah was not a victim of R. Kelly and instead was in a healthy, loving relationship with the convicted sexual abuser.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” actor made the eyebrow-raising comments about the deceased “One In a Million” star during his recent sit down with VladTV. Washington was familiar with Aaliyah from working with her on the set of the 2000 action film, “Romeo Must Die.” Though it is unclear if the two spoke about Kelly during filming, Washington has seemingly formed his own opinion on their relationship.

“She was very complex,” the 59-year-old said, reminiscing about the singer. “She was easy to love. You can’t judge the choices she made in her life.”

Washington felt that Aaliyah was “in control” of the relationship due to being “mature beyond her age.” For years, talks of R. Kelly grooming the teenager in the 90s were swept under the rug. Then, when Aaliyah was 15, she and Kelly married in a hotel room ceremony. According to witnesses, the wedding was to protect the singer and producer from prosecution because he’d gotten the girl pregnant when he was 27 at the time. Despite a marriage certificate surfacing years later, it was not until recently that Kelly was held accountable for his crimes, receiving 30 years in prison for a long list of sex-related crimes against teenagers. Nevertheless, Washington is sure that Aaliyah was a target.

“She was 15 going on 30,” Washington assured Vlad.

Even Vlad, who is known to push the boundaries, appeared shocked by the actor’s comments. He even commented on The Neighborhood Talk’s post condemning Washington.

“For the record, I disagree with Isaiah on this. That’s why I brought up Aaliyah’s age at the time,” Vlad wrote.