R. Kelly Reportedly Placed on Suicide Watch at New York Federal Detention Center

R. Kelly is currently on suicide watch following his sentence of 30 years in prison on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

The singer is being held at the federal detention facility in New York and his lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, tells CNN that Kelly has been placed on suicide watch, although he said he was not suicidal.

“The irony of putting someone on suicide watch when they’re not suicidal is it actually causes more harm,” Bonjean says.

Prosecutors that spoke to prison officials say he’s been placed on suicidal watch because he’s well-known.

R. Kelly is on suicide watch at the MDC, lawyer Jennifer Bonjean tells me.

Bonjean says the singer told her he was not suicidal after his sentencing Wednesday and feared being placed in those conditions when she last spoke to him.

— Sonia Moghe (@soniamoghe) July 1, 2022

Bonjean says, “It’s punishment for being high-profile. And it’s horrifying, frankly. To put someone under suicide watch under those conditions is cruel and unusual when they don’t need it.” She also confirmed that she hadn’t gotten an email from Kelly after requesting he’d email her once taken back to the facility center.

R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison this week for his years of plotting on women and underage girls and boys. He was found guilty on all nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.