Starting Thursday, the Lifetime network will devote six hours and three consecutive nights to “Surviving R. Kelly,” a powerful, disturbing chronicle of the long-running allegations that the music superstar has sexually and physically abused women and young girls.
Containing more than 50 interviews and covering a time span from 1970 to today, the cable-TV documentary is among the most comprehensive looks ever at the scandal surrounding the man once nicknamed the king of R & B.
It’s a story that deserves a docu-series, according to Detroit author, activist and filmmaker Dream Hampton, executive producer of “Surviving R. Kelly.”
“I felt like it was time to deal with him, for lack of a better word,” says Hampton.
Viewers will learn more about everything from Kelly’s troubled childhood in Chicago to his early success to his secretive relationship with Aaliyah, the late singer-actress from Detroit who was 15 when she wed Kelly, then 27.
Most of all, they will hear accounts from those described by Lifetime as survivors and people from R. Kelly’s inner circle who “are now finally ready to share their full story and shed light on the secret life the public has never seen.”
The interview subjects include Kelly’s ex-wife, Andrea Kelly; ex-girlfriend Kitti Jones, and brothers Carey and Bruce Kelly.
Already, the documentary has made headlines. An early-December screening in New York City was canceled as a result of anonymous phone threats. In a current People magazine story timed to the docu-series, eight women speak out about the alleged abuse that Kelly inflicted on them or their loved ones.
“Surviving R. Kelly” is part of Lifetime’s pledge to give a voice to women who have been unheard until now and to spread awareness about issues like the abuse and harassment of women.
Hampton spoke to the Free Press about the docu-series and the courage of the women who have stepped forward to share their stories. Here’s the conversation, edited for length and clarity.