New Details of Alleged Sexual Misconduct Surface in “Accused: The R. Kelly Story”
Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing.
Another woman has come forward accusing R. Kelly of sexual misconduct in her first on-camera interview. Last night (January 18) “Dateline NBC” ran an hour-long broadcast detailing the lengthy history of Kelly’s sexual assault allegations. “Accused: The R. Kelly Story” featured interviews with multiple women who accused Kelly of physical and psychological abuse. Among them was Tracy Sampson, a former Epic Records intern who claims in her first on-camera interview that Kelly engaged in a sexual relationship with her that began in 1999 when she was 16 years old. Sampson—who was allegedly introduced to Kelly by her former boss at Epic—stated that Kelly kissed her without consent before eventually coaxing her into a sexual relationship. Sampson also claimed that during intercourse, Kelly used to ask to her to, “tell daddy how old you are.” Sampson first spoke of her relationship with R. Kelly with the Washington Post in May 2018.
“Accused: The R. Kelly Story” also featured an interview with Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, who denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse. Of the accusations made against Kelly, Greenberg said: “all of these women are lying.”
“Dateline”’s investigation of the growing R. Kelly controversy comes after Lifetime’s six-episode documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired earlier this month. Since then, several musicians who previously collaborated with Kelly have spoken out against the singer, including Chance the Rapper, Lady Gaga, and Phoenix. The series also motivated Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in Chicago to encourage any survivors and witnesses with information about Kelly to contact her office in order to initiate an investigation. More recently, Kelly was dropped by RCA Records.
Read “Creating ‘Surviving R. Kelly’: Why dream hampton Put Together the Powerful Series” on the Pitch.
This article was originally published on Saturday, January 19 at 12:13 a.m. Eastern. It was last updated on January 19 at 12:33 a.m. Eastern.
