R. Kelly is being accused of holding women in a “cult” where he dictates everything from dressing and nutrition to their sexual behavior and controls any communication they have with the outside world, Buzzfeed reports earlier today.
Buzzfeed alleges that the R&B singer, who has homes near Chicago and Atlanta, houses up to six women.
Three people who say they used to be a part of Kelly’s entourage, Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee, gave information on Kelly’s alleged lifestyle.
Mack told Buzzfeed that Kelly runs every aspect of these women’s lives.
“No. You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom… a master at mind control. … He is a puppet master,” he said.
According to Mack, Jones and McGee, there was a 31-year-old “den mother” who recently vacated Kelly’s residence. The women claim there is currently a 25-year-old woman, a 19-year-old model, a 26-year-old aspiring singer and an 18-year-old singer living with the R&B artist.
The mom of one of the women, who was not identified, spoke to Buzzfeed and claimed that her daughter was 19 when she met the now 50-year-old star in 2015.
She hoped Kelly would help her daughter’s singing career. Instead, she alleges her daughter moved into the recording artist’s home.
Soon after, the mother claims her daughter’s contact with her parents dwindled to include only two vague texts — on Christmas and Mother’s Day.
The mother told Buzzfeed she has not seen her daughter since Dec. 1, 2016.
The texts allegedly read, “I hate Christmas has to be this way this year,” and “Happy Mother’s Day from me and Rob.”
The mom, whom Buzzfeed identified only by the initial J., described the last time she saw her child.
“It was as if she was brainwashed. [She] looked like a prisoner. It was horrible. I hugged her and hugged her. But she just kept saying she’s in love and [Kelly] is the one who cares for her. I don’t know what to do. I hope that if I get her back, I can get her treatment for victims of cults,”
J. told Buzzfeed. “They can reprogram her. But I wish I could have stopped it from happening.”
Desperate parents speaking to Buzzfeed said they contacted the FBI and two police departments. However, they claim a wellness check last December prompted by the parents revealed nothing was amiss at the Kelly residence.
In 2008, Kelly was acquitted of the charges of engaging in a sexual act with a minor which was caught on video.