R.Kelly Sexual Abuse Victim Receives Priority Access To The Singer’s Royalty Account With Sony Music

On Thursday, Illinois higher court ruled that Heather Williams had the right to access R. Kelly’s account with Sony Music, which was worth $1.5 million. Williams received access to the account following the ruling of the Illinois Supreme Court that determined Williams’ claims should be given precedence over those of a Chicago landlord who is also owed millions.

The lower court believed Williams should be given first dibs on the account because she was the first to properly demand the funds from Sony. The court later decided that Sony should give Williams “any funds currently in Kelly’s royalty account.” They also ruled that Williams should continue receiving royalties until the judgment is paid off.

Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s attorney, stated that she is currently working on appealing the $4 million judgment. She argues that the judgment awarded to Williams, which was issued after Kelly failed to respond, should not have been made in the first place.

“I’ve never in my career seen such a flouting of the rules to deny him even the opportunity to defend these civil cases, even when the courts were fully aware that Kelly was incarcerated, unrepresented at points, and facing multiple criminal indictments,” Bonjean says. “Indeed, much of these civil proceedings occurred without Kelly’s knowledge.”

Nevertheless, the distribution of Kelly’s funds held by Sony has been put on hold until the conclusion of the legal proceedings, and it remains uncertain how much money is currently in the account.

In 2019, Williams filed a lawsuit against Kelly claiming that he enticed her into his studio when she was 16 by offering her a role in a music video and repeatedly had sex with her while she was underage.