R. Kelly Asks Media 'To Take It Easy' On Him Before Springfield Event
Chicago (CBS) -- R. Kelly asked the media "to take it easy" on him before a Springfield event Saturday.
The embattled R&B singer posted a video on Instagram saying, "this is how I got to get paid right now".
Kelly's lawyers have said it's been hard for the singer to find work in the United States since his arrest on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and the earlier broadcast of the documentary "Surviving R. Kelly," detailing multiple allegations of sexual and physical abuse.
"Robert needs to be working again," Attorney Doug Anton said.
The last time Kelly was in court on March 22, his lawyers delayed a request to allow him to travel to Dubai this month to perform in concerts while free on bond in his sexual abuse case.
In addition to the concerts in Dubai, Kelly is hoping to book other concerts in the U.S. and overseas. Anton said Kelly also has enough recorded songs for three new albums.
Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in February. Prosecutors have said Kelly sexually abused four females, including three underage girls. Kelly allegedly had a witness make sex tapes of him sexually abusing one of the females, a 14-year-old girl.
The alleged abuse goes back 20 years, spanning from 1998 to 2010.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the sexual abuse charges. As a condition of his bond, he was ordered to surrender his passport, and cannot leave Illinois without the judge's permission.
Attorney Steve Greenberg said, because of cancelled concerts in Illinois, being booted by his record label, and the removal of Kelly's music from several streaming services, the R&B singer has been forced to look at other ways to make money, including traveling to Dubai to perform.
Allegations of Kelly's sexual abuse go back decades and have prompted a recent nationwide protest called #MuteRKelly to boycott his music, in the wake of a Lifetime documentary, "Surviving R. Kelly," featuring interviews with the music artist's alleged accusers.
In 2008, Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges connected to a videotape of him allegedly sexually abusing a girl. It took six years from the time Kelly was charged with the offense to the end of the trial. It took the jury less than a day to deliberate.
