Last night (Dec. 4), news spread of an evacuated screening of the upcoming R. Kelly docu-series, Surviving R. Kelly, due to reports of gun threats. Those in attendance at the screening included #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, writer and editor Jamilah Lemieux and several of R. Kelly’s accusers.
While there are no leads as to who was the person behind the threats to the venue, Andrea Kelly, the ex-wife of the musician, believes that the singer had something to do with the early evacuation.
“The first thing that came to my mind — and I can’t speak for anyone else — was that [R. Kelly] had this shut down,” she told Rolling Stone. She noted that the evacuation occurred 20 minutes into the screening, which she called “magical.”
“I believe it was somebody connected to him,” she continued. “This was an outside inside-job to me; someone on the outside does not want what’s going on on the inside to be completed. Whoever it came from, they know that this is not a good thing because there’s power in numbers.”
However, she believes that there was strength that came with the threat of violence at the screening, noting that “they just put gasoline on a fire” that will continue to burn longer and stronger.
“This is my moment of vindication; this is my chance for someone to listen to my story” and it got cut short. But this is in no way the end. This isn’t a stop; it was just a pause,” she said. “This is so strong and powerful and life-changing that you have people that don’t want this story told. That means that you speak louder. That means that you come together like never before. That means that you keep pushing forward. You put cracks in us, but you didn’t break us. What we should be concerned about is if no one felt threatened by this documentary.”
READ MORE: Throw The Whole Man Away: Why The Black Community Must Stop Supporting R. Kelly
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