The former tour manager to R. Kelly testified that he was aware of the singer’s marriage to Aaliyah but did not want to intervene.
Demetrius Smith, who worked for the “Honey Love” singer from 1984 and 1996, testified in federal court that he and Kelly met Aaliyah in 1992, at the urging of her uncle and Kelly’s manager, Barry Hankerson. After hearing her sing, then 13-year-old Aaliyah and her parents traveled to Chicago to work with Kelly.
During his testimony, which was combative at times, Smith said that Kelly would often be alone with Aaliyah to “work on her vocals.” He claimed that he became concerned with the blossoming relationship between the Grammy winner and the child.
“I thought that they were playful and at times. I was concerned,” he admitted, even asking his boss if he was “messing with Aaliyah or anything?” Once Kelly said no, Smith dropped the matter. However, despite no longer vocally expressing his concerns over Kelly becoming increasingly close to the girl, Smith confessed: “they were more than friends from the very beginning.”
Smith, who was previously granted immunity for his testimony, says that in 1994, Kelly told him that his young protege believed she was pregnant with his child. The then 27-year-old told his tour manager his plan to marry Aaliyah to prevent her from testifying against him.
“I told him that he couldn’t marry Aaliyah, that she was too young.” Despite this advice, Smith says that once Kelly questioned his loyalty, he no longer spoke against the marriage because he wanted to “stay in the loop.” Smith then provided the teen with a fake ID and bribed a court clerk with $500 to grant them a marriage license. Aaliyah was 15-years-old at the time.
“That shouldn’t have happened. That was wrong,” Smith stated as he continued telling prosecutors that he was uncomfortable speaking about Aaliyah.
During an interview with the Daily News on Sunday, the now 65-year-old cried while speaking about not doing more to help the teenager. Still, Smith claimed he was not the only person aware of the predatory relationship.
“Everybody had the opportunity to step in,” Smith said.
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