Source: NBC / Getty
Since the airing of Surviving R. Kelly, more details about his relationship with the late Aaliyah are being uncovered. The New York Times did an interview with Chicago reporter Jim DeRogatis who has been following R. Kelly since 2000. During his talk on the podcast, “Popcast,” he revealed that R. Kelly and Aaliyah’s annulment papers also revealed that he had physically abused the late singer, who was 15 when they were illegally married. Within their annulment paperwork, there is a document that protects Kelly from ever being prosecuted for physically abusing Aaliyah.
“The annulment of the Aaliyah marriage and Aaliyah’s legal claim against him had been sealed in Detroit … they were sealed by the court but those documents were provided to me,” DeRogatis said. “It’s a harrowing document, a non-disclosure agreement on both her part and Kelly’s, vowing not to pursue further legal claims for physical abuse. So it wasn’t just an underage sexual relationship, he hit her, allegedly, according to that court document.”
There were also claims that Kelly, who was 27 at the time, impregnated the teenage starlet. They were married from August 31, 1994 to February 7, 1995.
Kelly’s lawyer Steven Greenberg appeared on Good Morning America and defended the Chicago singer. Greenberg claimed that Aaliyah allegedly lied about her age to Kelly and he was not aware that she was 15 when they were married
“Except that my understanding is that she did not claim to be 15, and in order to get married, she had to lie about her age.”
