Sean “Diddy” Combs has officially been transferred to another penitentiary to start his prison sentence. As it stands, the 56-year-old music star is set to serve his sentence of four years (or about 50 months). However, there’s also still a question of whether he could receive a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. POTUS has shared mixed thoughts on the matter thus far, though some legal experts still think it’s possible. In fact, one of R. Kelly’s lawyers is now weighing in on how Combs could still receive clemency.

Nicole Blank Becker became Robert “R” Kelly’s lawyer in 2019, at which time the singer was facing various sexual abuse-related allegations. In 2021 and 2022, Kelly was convicted on multiple charges, and he’s currently serving a 31-year sentence. While her client didn’t receive a pardon, Becker believes it’s “certainly not out of the realm” of possibility for Diddy. As she explained to Fox News Digital, though, there needs to be more to the situation than meets the eye:

Sean Combs was handed a mixed verdict at the conclusion of his trial earlier this year and, as a result, he was acquitted of sex-trafficking and racketeering but convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The prostitution-bsaed offenses were initiated under the jurisdiction of the Mann Act. (That human trafficking-related law also played into R. Kelly’s conviction.) At his sentencing hearing in October, Diddy apologized for his actions, though Becker also says he’ll need to show true remorse if he wants a pardon:

Per Nicole Blank Becker (who previously weighed in on Diddy’s trial), something that must also be considered is the person or group of people who would actually make the pardon request. It’s Becker’s belief that not just anyone can make the request, and she shared her take on what said individuals are like:

Of course, there are two sides to this situation. The other one involves President Trump, who would have to have a true willingness to consider and extend the pardon. Whether or not he’d actually be open to doing so is hard to say at this point. During a press conference this past June, Trump said he wasn’t following Diddy’s case that closely and that he’d have to examine it more. (Around that time, 50 Cent said he’d try to bar such a pardon.) In August, during an interview, Trump acknowledged he was “friendly” with Diddy years ago, given their positions in New York’s high society. However, he said he was “more likely” to say no to a pardon.

The president claimed in October that Diddy did request a pardon, though no further action has seemingly been taken on that front. In the meantime, Sean Combs remains incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix, which is where he’s intended to spend his incarceration. While it’s unclear if he’ll receive a pardon, Combs did just notch a legal victory in that his appeal was expedited.

A few weeks ago, my friends and I were telling our wives about Trapped in the Closet, R. Kelly’s wild musical soap opera that starts with a guy stuck in a closet while his lover’s husband comes home which just gets crazier from there. After spending way too much time trying to explain that between writing a song for one of the best movie soundtracks of all time and being sent to prison for sex trafficking, R. Kelly released a bonkers hip-hopera, we decided to just put it on and let them see it for themselves.

Though I remembered some of the initial 12-part series (there are a total of 33 chapters), I forgot just how absurdly ridiculous it was. Between a preacher cheating on his wife who is cheating on him with her best friend’s husband, the late Michael K. Williams playing a Chicago cop, and guns being pulled out all willy-nilly, there was a lot to take in. And that night, as I was going to bed, I just kept thinking, “What in the hell did I just watch?”

I Remember R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet Being A Big Thing, But I Completely Forgot How Absurd It Is

When Trapped in the Closet first came out, and was then released again throughout the latter part of the 2000s (when it was on BET, VH1, and MTV all the time) R. Kelly’s musical was a big deal. I mean, it was before all those sexual assault allegations broke and after the R&B singer put out hit after hit after hit, so a lot of people watched. And while I did have some recollection of its contents, I completely forgot how crazy it was.

The story is one thing, but the production is off-the-wall wild, especially whenever Kelly’s character, Sylvester (not to be confused with the narrator character that fades in and out throughout the saga), is driving from house to house trying to get to the bottom of the increasingly complex storyline. Though cheesy, it had a certain charm that took me back to my high school days, which made the whole experience even crazier.

Seriously, Each Subsequent Chapter Gets Wilder And Wilder

I don’t want to go and ruin Trapped in the Closet for those who have somehow avoided this tour de force the past 20 years, but just know that if you think one episode is wild, just wait until the next. Seriously, each chapter gets crazier and crazier, so much so that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to keep a chart breaking down all the different relationships and scenarios so you don’t get lost. And the teases. Oh my god, they’re like those MCU end-credit scenes, but instead of teasing a new villain, they tease a new character who is somehow connected to everyone.

Despite The Cheesiness And Absurdity, I Kept Watching Even After The First 12-Part Run

Going into the Trapped in the Closet, I knew it was going to be a cheesy and absurd experience. I mean, the Weird Al Yankovic parody, “Trapped in the Drive-Thru,” doesn’t come close to matching the ridiculousness of the whole spectacle, and that’s a joke song. Despite this, I kept watching Kelly’s twist-and-turn-filled opera through the first 12-chapter run and into the next phase of the saga. I had to stop around 16 episodes in to go home, but I could have kept going through the whole 33-chapter story.

And I Have To Admit, Trapped In The Closest Is Still Wildly Entertaining In 2025

I have to admit, Trapped in the Closet is still wildly entertaining in 2025, and spending a couple of hours watching a man get caught up in all these increasingly chaotic and hard-to-believe situations was some of the most fun I’ve had recently. If you’re looking for a fun, cheesy, outrageous way to spend a few hours, it’s not too hard to find copies of R. Kelly’s epic online. And, it’s likely nothing from the 2025 TV schedule will come close to matching what I consider a masterpiece.

All in all, revisiting Trapped in the Closet with a group of friends (several of whom had never seen it before) after all these years is something I won’t forget for a very long time.

The federal case against Sean “Diddy” Combs” bears more than a passing resemblance to the case against R. Kelly. Not only are both men rappers who were charged with sex crimes, and Diddy is now housed in the same prison that once held R. Kelly, but both were also charged with racketeering, running a criminal enterprise. Now one of R. Kelly’s attorneys has spoken out on the case against Diddy and she suggests he may have one path that could reduce the charges against him that wasn’t open to R. Kelly.

Nicole Blank Becker, one of R. Kelly’s attorneys, recently spoke to Fox News and discussed the similarities between the two cases. However, there is also one significant difference between the two. Blank Becker says R. Kelly didn’t have many celebrities in his inner circle, but Diddy does. She said…

The lawyer suggests that Diddy could potentially make things better for himself by telling authorities what he knows and what other major celebrities were involved in his “freak offs” the parties where women were allegedly forced or coerced into sexual activity for an audience. Blank Becker thinks that Diddy could try to name names in order to reduce the heat on himself. She continued...

Diddy was known for throwing lavish parties that major celebrities attended, but it’s unclear who exactly was involved in the alleged sex trafficking other than Diddy himself. That is certain information that prosecutors would like to have, so it’s possible Diddy could use it to bargain. Most of Diddy’s celebrity friends have remained quiet since his arrest.

According to Blank Becker, the biggest hurdle to that idea is that federal rules don’t require prosecutors to turn over discovery in the case to the defense until just before the trial begins, so Diddy doesn’t know what prosecutors know and what they don’t. Authorities may have already made deals with others to testify against Diddy, and if that’s already happened, he won't be able to use those same names to help himself.

Even if Diddy was able to shield himself from some federal charges by naming other celebrities, that would only deal with some of the star's legal troubles. Numerous lawsuits against Diddy have continued to be filed claiming a variety of wrongdoing including sexual assaults.

Nearly a week after R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for violations of federal anti-sex trafficking laws, the disgraced singer remains on suicide watch, despite arguments from his legal team that his constitutional rights are being violated. Shortly after he was placed on suicide watch, Kelly filed a lawsuit asking for compensatory damages and to be taken off suicide watch immediately. 

On July 1, Law & Crime reports that R. Kelly (real name Robert Sylvester Kelly) filed a Bivens action — which claims a person’s civil liberties were violated by federal officials — against Bureau of Prisons regional official Heriberto H. Tellez, the warden of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the federal government, and other MDC officials. He also sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, claiming that the suicide watch determination was made without him being suicidal and resulted in severe mental distress.

In the eight-page federal lawsuit, R. Kelly is seeking to be taken off suicide watch as well as for “compensatory damages for all emotional distress, humiliation, pain and suffering, and other harm in an amount to be determined at trial.”

R. Kelly’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean spoke out against her client being put on suicide watch following his sentencing — which came nine months after he was found guilty on charges of racketeering and violations of the Mann Act. Bonjean argued that he was not suicidal and the decision was made for “purely punitive reasons.” In a memorandum filed in addition to Kelly’s lawsuit, per Law & Crime, Bonjean said she was informed the reasons he was on “psych alert” were various and included “age, crime, publicity, and sentencing.” She said in the memo:

However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York submitted a response to the lawsuit, saying R. Kelly’s request to be removed from suicide watch should be dismissed, and that his placement was a result of the in-person assessment given after he returned to MDC after the 30-year sentence was doled out. The government said in their reply:

We’ll have to see what comes of this lawsuit if it goes to trial. R. Kelly is also set to stand trial in Chicago on federal charges of obstruction and child pornography, and he also faces state charges in Illinois and Minnesota. 

His 30-year prison sentence came following decades of allegations of sexual abuse. In 1994, R. Kelly illegally married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton, who died in 2001. He was arrested in 2002 on 21 counts of child pornography but was ultimately acquitted. In 2017, he faced accusations of brainwashing women, which was followed by a sexual battery lawsuit in 2018. The 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly (now available to Netflix subscribers) shined a spotlight on the allegations, and Kelly was arrested shortly thereafter.

R. Kelly has been in prison since summer 2019 but, following the judge’s ruling last week that the disgraced R&B singer will remain jailed for the next three decades, Kelly has been put on suicide watch. While this seems like a pretty standard move — especially considering the length of the sentence and the high-profile nature of the case and its defendant — Kelly’s legal team has spoken out. The team has criticized the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and alleged cruel and unusual treatment of their client.

Robert Sylvester Kelly was found guilty in September 2021 on federal charges of racketeering and violations of the Mann Act — an anti-sex-trafficking law. On June 29, he was sentenced by Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 30 years in prison and given strict conditions of release, should the 55-year-old get out of prison in his 80s. R. Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said her client is not suicidal and that placing him under suicide watch is a violation of his constitutional rights. She said in a statement (per ET):

The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bars the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or — in this case — cruel and unusual punishment. Jennifer Bonjean said in her complaint (obtained by People) that the conditions of suicide watch qualify as such and that the state of confinement is so harsh that it “can and does cause serious mental harm.” The lawyer’s complaint alleged a number of conditions that inmates on suicide watch can face:

It’s unknown which or if any of these conditions apply to R. Kelly himself, as a representative for the Bureau of Prisons told People that for safety reasons they cannot provide information on the “conditions of confinement or internal security practices for any particular inmate.”

The 30-year sentence came nine months after R.Kelly was found guilty of nine federal sex crimes, following decades of allegations. In 1994, the singer illegally married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton, who died in 2001. He was arrested in 2002 on 21 counts of child pornography but was ultimately acquitted. In 2017, he faced accusations of brainwashing women, which was followed by a sexual battery lawsuit in 2018. The 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly (now available to Netflix subscribers) shined a spotlight on the allegations, and Kelly was arrested shortly thereafter.

Aside from his lawyers’ court battle over the suicide watch, the R&B singer’s legal troubles continue. He is set to stand trial in Chicago on federal charges of obstruction and child pornography, and he also faces state charges in Illinois and Minnesota. Given how publicized the former entertainer's legal troubles have been, it's likely that many will continue to keep their eyes peeled as new developments occur.

The judge recently handed down a lengthy prison sentence to Robert Sylvester Kelly — a.k.a. R. Kelly, who is well-known for his R&B hits from the ‘90s — after he was found guilty in September 2021 on one count of racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex trafficking law. The 55-year-old singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which means he presumably could be a free man again when he’s in his 80s. However, as prosecutors warned of his continued danger to society and lack of remorse, there will be a number of conditions and restrictions Kelly will have to follow if that day comes.

When handing down the 30-year sentence, TMZ reports, Judge Ann M. Donnelly said upon his release from prison, R. Kelly will be required to undergo mental health treatment that includes therapy for an unspecified sexual disorder. During the trial, Kelly’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean (who also represented Bill Cosby) had argued for a shorter sentence on the basis of her client’s "hypersexuality" that resulted from sexual abuse as a child.

The judge also ordered that R. Kelly would have to avoid contact with anyone under 18. The only way he could be in the presence of anyone younger would be if it was a family member or in a therapeutic setting with a “responsible adult” present, and that would have to be approved in advance by his probation officer. 

He would also be required to inform anyone choosing to live with him that he is a sex offender and would remain under supervised release for five years after leaving prison.

R. Kelly has already been in jail since July 2019. Forty-five witnesses testified in the case against the singer, with accusations including that he lured fans and hopeful singers into sexually abusive situations and would lock victims in rooms for days with no bathroom access or food. 

The sentencing came nine months after he was found guilty of all nine federal sex crimes and followed decades of allegations that began in the 1990s when he illegally married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton, who died in 2001. Despite being arrested in 2002 on 21 counts of child pornography, the case took six years to go to trial and the singer was ultimately acquitted. But accusations started again in the following years, including that he was brainwashing women in 2017, and he was sued for sexual battery in 2018.

The allegations against R. Kelly were spotlighted in the 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly (now available to Netflix subscribers) and he was arrested shortly thereafter.

The court battles aren’t over for the R&B singer, despite the 30-year prison sentence. He will next stand trial in Chicago on federal charges of obstruction and child pornography, and he also faces state charges in Illinois and Minnesota. We’ll have to see if the upcoming lawsuits result in more time added to his sentence.

R. Kelly, once best known for his string of hits in the music industry, was convicted of sex trafficking after a lengthy court battle back in September of 2021. Now, the New York court has sentenced him to thirty years in prison. 

Robert Sylvester Kelly – who is more famously known as R. Kelly – has been sentenced to thirty years in prison after federal prosecutors requested "in excess of 25 years" in light of the charges for which he was convicted, according to Variety. Prosecutors cited a continued danger to public as well as a lack of apparent remorse. He is currently 55 years old.

The thirty-year decision follows the argument from the former music superstar's attorney for no more than ten years. His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean (also known for representing Bill Cosby) argued that he should receive a considerably shorter sentence due to his development of "hypersexuality" as an adult after sexual abuse as a child.

He was charged with nine counts back when the six-week trial began in 2021, including one count of racketeering and eight violations of anti-sex trafficking law. At the time, Variety reported that the jury deliberated for nine hours in New York federal court before returning with the guilty verdict. He was convicted of all nine counts after pleading not guilty.

The charges resulted from allegations that he lured fans and prospective singers into sexually abusive situations, with the help of employees and intermediaries. Among the accusations was that he locked victims in rooms for days while denying them bathroom access or food. 45 witnesses testified to bolster the case against Kelly, who has been in prison since back in the summer of 2019. 

In their sentencing letter, prosecutors wrote that Kelly has not acknowledged his illegal behavior, and hasn't shown remorse in a "callous disregard" for the abuses for which he has been convicted. The thirty-year sentence comes from New York; he is expected to next be transferred to Chicago for an upcoming trial on charges of obstruction and child pornography, and he faces state charges in both Illinois and Minnesota. 

The sentencing comes after decades of allegations against R. Kelly before he was eventually jailed in 2019. They began in the early '90s, and he famously (and illegally) married singer Aaliyah Haughton when she was only 15 years old in 1994. In the wake of future accusations, he was jailed in 2002 but ultimately acquitted. 

Accusations continued to surface over the ensuing years, including of brainwashing women in mid-2017 and a sexual battery lawsuit in 2018. Later that year, authorities were even looking for Kelly's manager.

The allegations against him gained even wider public awareness in early 2019 with the release of the Lifetime docu-series called Surviving R. Kelly (now available streaming for Netflix subscribers). He was arrested shortly after, and the docu-series received a second season the next year. (Unsurprisingly, R. Kelly was not a fan.) His thirty-year sentence isn't the end of the charges against him, and only time will tell if more years are added. 

Idris Elba hosted Saturday Night Live last night, and they did throw in an obligatory nod to all the James Bond casting rumors. The Thor star also got a clever Bruce Banner/The Hulk sketch. But -- as gross as it sounds -- the night belonged to R. Kelly. From Kenan Thompson's brilliant Cold Open to Pete Davidson's bold Weekend Update segment, R. Kelly dominated the show.

The 007 talk came at the very end of the "Can I Play That?" talk show. Idris Elba, Cecily Strong, and Beck Bennett played a game -- produced by Twitter, so there's a hint -- answering whether certain actors can play certain roles in this day and age. The final round was "Can You Play James Bond?" and Elba's character said he knew the answer to that one. Host Kenan Thompson gave him a look. "Do you, though?" #Classic

Here's "The Impossible Hulk" sketch, with a modern twist on The Hulk origin story. Cecily Strong is so good at playing unhinged.

LET GO OF MY ARM.

Idris Elba wasn't part of the Cold Open -- the host usually isn't -- and it wasn't a political one this week. Instead, Leslie Jones played Gayle King as Kenan Thompson took on the role of R. Kelly for a spoof on the real interview. This should be on Thompson's Emmy reel:

The other major R. Kelly headline from the show went to Pete Davidson, who called out hypocrisy all over the place from the Weekend Update desk. He compared supporting the Catholic church to being an R. Kelly fan. "I don't really see the difference, only like one's music is significantly better." Better than just boycotting everything, he argued, is to just acknowledge the "bad people" involved by name, and give a dollar to a charity that helps sexual assault survivors every time you listen to songs from someone like R. Kelly or Michael Jackson.

Pete Davidson also perfectly called out the age gap hypocrisy from people obsessed with his relationship with Kate Beckinsale. If anyone has questions about a big age difference in a relationship, he said, they can go ask [very long list of famous men dating much younger women].

Pete Davidson is on a roll lately. Check out more videos from the March 9 show at SNL's YouTube.

Good news: Sandra Oh is hosting next on March 30, which is a week before the premiere of Killing Eve Season 2. She's hot off her co-hosting gig at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards. Since she's a TV star, does this mean SNL is finally easing into letting more TV stars host the show? Usually they try to focus on someone promoting a movie.

So it sounds like SNL will be on repeats for the next couple of weeks until Sandra Oh arrives. Check out what else is still airing out there during midseason 2019.

Lifetime recently aired a six-part documentary series called Surviving R. Kelly. It aired over three nights, caused a huge social media stir, and delivered record-breaking ratings for the network. The docu-series detailed years of sexual abuse allegations against the R&B artist. While there are likely plenty of people who appreciated the content of Surviving R. Kelly making it to the airwaves, R. Kelly himself apparently wasn't very happy about it.

R. Kelly himself hasn't released an official statement detailing his feelings about Surviving R. Kelly, but TMZ cites sources "in day-to-day contact" with the artist who express that he was quite displeased with the docu-series. R. Kelly allegedly views the project as a "vendetta" run against him by those who came to hate him over the years of his career and claims that he doesn't even know many of the people who appeared in the show, although he himself did not watch.

His team reportedly filled him in on the people who contributed. A few big names from the music industry appeared in the docu-series as well as those with accusations against him, including John Legend and Chance the Rapper. Sources reportedly claim that R. Kelly intends to sue anybody who was associated with Surviving R. Kelly, even going so far as to suggest that those who wanted to defend him on Surviving R. Kelly were prevented from contributing.

At the time of writing, R. Kelly has not fired lawsuits against all the people who appeared on Surviving R. Kelly. Whether legal action is taken or not, the allegations leveled against R. Kelly in the Lifetime docu-series likely aren't going away any time soon. The artist began making headlines about his behavior years ago, and he was accused of brainwashing women and more cult-like behavior back in July 2017.

As it happens, R. Kelly began facing a lawsuit of his own back in May 2018. He was sued by a woman who claimed sexual battery, false imprisonment, and failure to disclose an STD. The negative buzz surrounding R. Kelly is only building as more time passes, and recent years have proven that allegations against famous men in positions of showbiz power don't just go away as they once might have.

Plus, there's the fact that Surviving R. Kelly was a big hit for Lifetime. In fact, the first night of the three-night event ranked as Lifetime's best performance in more than two years in all of the key demographics, comprised of Adults 25-54, Adults 18-49, Women 25-54, and Women 18-49. It was also the #1 most social program across broadcast and cable for the night of January 3. 2019 is already off to a strong start for Lifetime, which the network definitely needed.

Given all the people who tuned in and talked about it on social media, the allegations against R. Kelly were exposed on a large platform with a relatively wide reach. He'll probably continue to be unhappy about the docu-series for the foreseeable future.

If you didn't catch Surviving R. Kelly the first time around and want to check it out, you can watch an encore marathon of all six episodes on Friday, January 11 at 6 p.m. on Lifetime. For alternate viewing options, take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule.

R. Kelly has received more allegations. In New York City, Faith Rodgers recently filed a lawsuit claiming the musician allegedly sexually assaulted her when they met in March 2017 after a performance in San Antonio. She was 19 at the time. Rodgers is currently suing R. Kelly for sexual battery, false imprisonment and failure to disclose an STD, as Faith claims she got herpes from the Trapped in the Closet artist. Here's what we know about the case.

In the suit, according to TMZ, Faith Rodgers not only claims she and R. Kelly met in San Antonio but that, months later, the musician reportedly flew Rodgers to New York City to see one of R. Kelly's concerts. Following this performance, R. Kelly allegedly became agressive her inside her hotel room, and he later initiated "unwanted sexual contact." That's when the alleged assault happened, with Kelly reportedly claiming Rodgers disappointed him in bed. They were reportedly dating for about a year, during which time R. Kelly allegedly abused Rodgers physically and verbally. Later in the suit, Rodgers claims Kelly would lock her into rooms, cars and other locations to punish her for not fulfilling his desires.

These disturbing allegations also include a segment where Faith Rodgers claims R. Kelly also had a female assistant who would "stand guard" to make sure Faith didn't escape. As mentioned earlier, these recent sexual allegations are not the first R. Kelly has received. Last year, for instance, the singer was accused of brainwashing women and other cult-like behavior. The story claimed R. Kelly had six women between the ages of 18 and 31 living in his Atlanta and Chicago homes. He reportedly controlled their daily lives and sexual activities, as it was reported in the initial story. R. Kelly has been accused of inappropriate behavior for awhile, but his actions have come under fire particularly throughout this past year. R. Kelly denies all allegations made against his character.

R. Kelly's history of bad behavior has resulted in the musician getting his music kicked off of Spotify, although Kelly claims that being removed from the popular music platform hasn't affected his streaming numbers, according to The Associated Press. He was removed from the site after their newest policy went into motion, which focused on hateful content or hateful conduct. Spotify made the notion on May 10th. It followed an online campaign entitled #MuteRKelly, which attempted to silence the musician's music after a stream of allegations have come out against him over the years. Apple and Pandora are also no longer promoting R. Kelly's music at this time, though they haven't officially released a statement at this time.

R. Kelly is back in the news for supposed illicit sexual activities with girls. Reportedly, the 50-year-old R&B singer has a cult of young women living in a state of mind control at residences he owns in Georgia and Illinois. A new article tries to blast through the walls of the supposed conspiracy to shed light on a corrupt situation happening behind the scenes in Kelly's world.

Chicago-based journalist Jim DeRogatis, who has been following R. Kelly's legal battles for years, published the lengthy article for Buzzfeed. The report includes details from three insiders---Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee---who claim Kelly has six women between the ages of 18 and 31 living in his Atlanta and Chicago homes, and the Grammy Award-winner controls their daily lives and sexual activities. Supposedly, Kelly lured girls into the cult with the appeal of fame and fortune from recording contracts.

After the publication of the article, the parents of Jocelyn Savage, one of the women allegedly in R. Kelly's cult, held a press conference in Atlanta, Georgia. They alleged that their daughter was suffering from Stockholm syndrome and could not leave Kelly's compound in Atlanta.

The plot thickened when Jocelyn Savage herself sat down for an interview with TMZ following her parents' press conference. The 21-year-old woman denied her parents' accusations about her mental state and the sex conspiracies. Furthermore, Savage said R. Kelly was not holding her against her will, and she stated her current age several times for the record---omitting how old she was when R. Kelly first pursued her. Savage even said she had left Atlanta, but she would not say where she had moved nor whether or not other women lived with her.

Linda Mensch, the civil lawyer representing R. Kelly, released a statement that managed not to confirm or deny the recent allegations while deflecting the situation by talking about the singer's benevolent goals. Mensch stated,

It is not the first time R. Kelly has faced accusations of sexual misconduct. In the early 2000s, a video tape surfaced supposedly showing Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl. And Jim DeRogatis, the reporter behind the recent article about Kelly's supposed cult of girls, was the person who received that video tape from an anonymous source and handed it over to authorities. In the court case, DeRogatis plead the Fifth Amendment to protect his source. In 2008, a jury acquitted Kelly of 14 charges of creating child pornography in that case.

That trial lasted six years. It excluded accusations by girls who received cash settlements and signed non-disclosure agreements before the trial. Also, the court case omitted information about Kelly's infamous marriage to Aaliyah. She was 15, but he was 27 when he married her and produced her album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number. Years later, Aaliyah's uncle supposedly wrote a letter to Kelly's attorney and said Kelly should get psychiatric help to stop him from grooming girls.

The singer has faced other sex-related cases over the years, which Jim DeRogatis outlined, but Kelly has never been found guilty. For example, in the late 90s, a Chicago woman gave a seven-hour deposition about a criminal sexual relationship R. Kelly had with her when he was 24, but she was 15. Kelly settled that case in 1998. Then another Chicago woman accused Kelly of forcing her to perform sex acts with other women. In 2002, a woman said Kelly secretly filmed her during sex. The list continues.

The new accusations against R. Kelly are damaging. We'll have to stay tuned to see what happens next in this ongoing saga.

Sometimes marriages end quickly over huge, traumatic incidents. Other times, it takes a small telling moment for a realization of impending failure to suddenly hit. For R. Kelly, that moment was apparently watching The Notebook. As the credits rolled and he balled his eyes out, the musician suddenly realized the lifelong love affair he always wanted to have couldn’t happen with his wife of twelve years, Andrea Kelly.

Kelly touched on the revelation in his new memoir Soulacoaster, and not surprisingly, the bizarre admission has been making the rounds on the Internet today. According to TMZ, Kelly didn’t act on his feelings immediately, but within a few years, the paperwork was out there and the divorce was on.

The Notebook might be a memento to lasting togetherness, but from a different perspective, it can also be a depressing sign of what one might be lacking. In Kelly’s case, it was that eternal commitment. Here’s how he summed it up…

It’s been three years since Kelly officially parted ways with his wife. He’s yet to remarry, but maybe one day, he’ll find his own Rachel McAdams. Pop Blend wishes him nothing but the best in that noble quest to live up to a movie.