R. Kelly Skips Sex Assault Hearing Because He's Worried His Infected Toe May Get Stepped On

Jordan Runtagh

R. Kelly believes he can’t walk.

The disgraced R&B star was a no-show at his status hearing in Chicago on Wednesday, tied to a host of sexual assault allegations against women and girls. According to the Chicago Tribune, Kelly’s lawyer attorney Steven Greenberg said the singer was absent because he was suffering from an infected toe and feared it might be stepped on while being transported to the courthouse from the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Kelly was reportedly excused from court after Greenberg told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber that the infection had resulted in him losing his toenail.

Speaking to reporters in the courthouse hallway, Greenberg shared that Kelly was wearing a walking boot to cope with the pain. However, the attorney not able to state which toe (or foot) was affected.

RELATED: R. Kelly Denied Bail as His Lawyers Complain About Lack of Girlfriend Visitation Rights

Kelly is currently facing charges of sex-trafficking, sexual assault and child pornography spread throughout Brooklyn, Chicago and Minneapolis.

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/Getty
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/Getty

In June, he pleaded not guilty to 11 felony sexual abuse counts after he was charged by Cook County prosecutors in Chicago in May. The charges included five counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, stemming from one accuser who claimed Kelly abused her in 2009 and 2010 while she was underage.

A month later the singer was arrested again and indicted on federal charges including child pornography, racketeering and obstruction of justice in both Illinois and New York, indictment documents and his lawyer confirmed. He has remained jailed since after being denied bail.

Then in August, Kelly was charged with two sex crimes in Minnesota after allegedly paying a teen girl $200 to dance nude back in 2001.

The Chicago trial is expected to begin April 27, 2020, while the New York trial is set to begin May 18, 2020, the New York Post‘s Page Six reported. That proceeding is expected to take three weeks.

Kelly, who was also the subject of the bombshell documentary Surviving R. Kelly earlier this year, has maintained his innocence throughout his legal troubles.