Journalist Touré Accused Of Workplace Sexual Harassment, He Says It Was “Edgy, Crass Banter”

Just days after the three-night, six-hour premiere of “Surviving R.Kelly,” in which survivors, celebrities and journalists detail Kelly’s alleged history of mental, emotional, and sexual abuse, one famed contributor has been hit with his own questionable allegations. 

According to Essence, Touré Neblett, known professionally by his first name Touré, has been accused of workplace sexual harassment. 

The 47-year-old journalist and author famously interviewed Kelly in 2008 about the sexual assault allegations brought forth against him, in which the singer-songwriter dropped the infamous question, “When you say teenage, how old are we talking.” 

But now, Neblett is reportedly facing allegations of his own after a makeup artist shared the revelation in an Instagram comment. 

“But #Toureshow used to sexually harass me? How that work,” DaniMakeup wrote on an Instagram post highlighting a recent Podcast interview with Toure and Jamliah Lemieux about Kelly’s predator behavior. “Every Monday I used to work with him on a show in 2017 and he couldn’t stop asking me to do anal, how I looked naked, if I had sex over the weekend, what it would be like to f*ck me, what his cum would look like on my face…I had to have the crew stay in the room w me while I got him ready and when I left I called HR.” 

“He got fired instantly,” DaniMakeup continued. “He wrote me a huge apology for doing that in my DMs. Still have it. He did a 20/20 shoot in 2018 and I was there and he walked out. Told the producer that he was ‘embarrassed bc he was inappropriate with a staff member’ he really needs to take a seat.”

In an interview with Essence, the woman elaborated on her experience with the famed journalist. 

“I worked with him most of 2017, I left in October, before he got fired,” she said. “When I reported it to Time Inc. they terminated him that day.” 

Although Dani said Toure apologized to her via Instagram, she said his appearance on Hot97 to discuss Harvey Weinstein’s allegations reopened old wounds. 

“He went on Hot97 to talk about Harvey Weinstein. I accepted his apology and was ok to move on but, you can’t be a sexual predator and go around shaming other predators,” she added, as she shared Toure’s Instagram apology, in which he claimed to have been joking. 

But since then, Touré has opened up about the allegations, doubling down on his claims, of “banter.” 

“On the show, our team, including myself, engaged in edgy, crass banter, that at the time I did not think was offensive for our tight-knit group. I am sorry for my language and for making her feel uncomfortable in any way. As a lead on the show, I should have refrained from this behavior. I have learned and grown from this experience,” Toure said via his rep.