Artist News Legal

Joycelyn Savage denies speaking out against R Kelly in new video statement

By | Published on Thursday 5 December 2019

R Kelly

One of R Kelly’s girlfriends, Joycelyn Savage, has issued a video statement denying that she published any claims against the musician online. But her family says that they still have questions about how whoever did post allegations in Savage’s name was able to detail abuse that seemed to confirm what they have uncovered through their own investigations.

Last month, a Patreon account was set up in Savage’s name, publishing a number of detailed accounts of abuse by Kelly. The page was subsequently shut down after Patreon was unable to confirm the identity of the person behind it. All monies that had been paid by followers to access the posts were refunded. Prior to that, an Instagram account also said to be operated by Savage indicated that she planned to make a public statement. Her family insists that this was, at least at one time, her personal account on the Instagram platform.

In her new statement, published by TMZ, Savage doesn’t actually mention the Patreon account, but does explicitly state that the Instagram posts were not from her. She then denies being a “victim” of Kelly’s and discusses other claims that have been made about him and her. She also speaks for Kelly’s other girlfriend Azriel Clary. Both Savage and Clary have spoken out in defence of Kelly a number of times.

Initially reading from a pre-prepared statement on her phone, Savage says: “I am truly tired of all the lies that they are saying about the man we love so much and our best friend R Kelly. It has been said that I have left him and that he has abused me and all kinds of nonsense. I have said before, none of it is true. It is a shame how they are treating him. It is so wrong on so many levels and he does not deserve this”.

“I am not going to be part of an assassination of R Kelly’s name, music career and his character”, she goes on. “How will he ever be able to get a fair trial anywhere in the world with all these lies that are being told on him? Please free him and let him come home in peace. I promise you, he is not the person you guys think he is. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and Azriel. I talk to him every day, and I see him every two weeks”.

In the second half of the video, speaking without a script, she goes on: “Please do not believe what you see and hear on social media. That is not my Instagram, someone is impersonating me. I just want everyone to know, we still support him, and we would never betray him. Me and Azriel will forever love him”.

“I would never in a million years hurt him like this”, she continues. “It’s just really, really, really sad that someone would pretend to be me … and say that I’m a victim, that I am brainwashed, I’m a sex slave … and that I have Stockholm syndrome. It’s just really, really said, and I’m just heartbroken for all of this that is going on”.

Earlier this year, Savage and Clary were interviewed together by CBS, where they spoke in favour of Kelly, denying that there had been any abuse or that they were being held against their will. They claimed that their families were making accusations against Kelly in an attempt to extort money from him.

Shortly after the broadcast, in which Kelly was also interviewed, he was arrested on further charges of sexual abuse. He has been held in custody ever since, awaiting trial in Chicago and New York. A further trial is set to take place in Minnesota.

After the Patreon account was set up, Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg initially gave validity to the claim that it was being operated by Savage herself by immediately accusing her of turning on Kelly because he was no longer able to fund her lifestyle.

Meanwhile Savage’s family said that they didn’t know whether or not the Patreon posts were genuine, but that some of the things they described confirmed some of what their own investigations had uncovered.

Following Savage’s new video, her family’s attorney, Gerald Griggs, said in a statement: “We’re saddened and disappointed to learn that Joycelyn Savage has said that she was not the person operating the Patreon account. We deeply desired to hear her story and in her own voice outside of the presence of Robert Sylvester Kelly or anyone associated with him. For nearly three years, Joycelyn Savage has not been able to speak outside of a controlled environment created by Mr Kelly. Her video today was not any different”.

“Although we can now verify that it wasn’t her account, the allegations still remain”, he went on. “These are allegations that our own independent investigation found to be accurate and closely match the details listed in four indictments against Mr Kelly. We are also concerned about who gained access to Joycelyn’s personal Instagram account to mislead the public and her family. But there is no deception in this fact, for three years, Joycelyn’s family has spent the holidays without their daughter. They love her and long to embrace her once again”.



READ MORE ABOUT: |