R Kelly’s history with underage girls has been well-documented, but despite extensive coverage on the multiple allegations and court cases, there seems to have been little damage to his career.
Now, a woman who accused the singer of having sex with her when she was 16-years-old has broken her NDA to speak out.
Speaking to BuzzFeed News, who are also responsible for breaking the story about the singer’s alleged abusive cult last month, Jerhonda Pace describes what life was like with R Kelly.
Pace, now 24, said that she met the singer when she was 15 at his trial for producing child pornography. She’d been a superfan and had attended court every day to support him.
After he was found not guilty, which Pace believed to be a vindication of her idol, someone from Kelly’s team reached out to her on Myspace and the pair started to spend their weekends together at Kelly’s house and have sex.
By this time, Pace was 16 and spent several months involved with the singer. She said he was always aware of her age – she showed him her ID – and he seemed excited by it. She also told BuzzFeed that he had her dress up as a schoolgirl and wear her hair in pigtails.
Her version of events is also reminiscent of what worried family members are saying happens in the alleged cult at the moment. She followed strict rules, “which included dressing in baggy clothes, turning over her phone, and asking permission to shower, eat, go to the bathroom, and leave the property. If she broke the rules, she says, she was mentally and physically abused”.
Eventually, the teenager ended her relationship with Kelly and later sued him.
“If I was to get criminal charges, it would probably be like it was last time, where he wouldn’t get convicted,” she told BuzzFeed.
Pace was promised an undisclosed sum if she signed a non-disclosure agreement, but Pace claims that money was never paid to her.
However she claims it’s not the unpaid money she’s worried about – it’s the women still living with him.
“If I can speak out and I can help them get out of that situation, that’s what I will do,” Pace says. “I didn’t have anybody to speak up on my behalf when I was going through what I was going through with him.”
Will this accusation the one that undoes R. Kelly?
