In the past year, the #MeToo movement
has exposed many powerful men
who used their positions to get away with sexual assault.
But there is one person who has consistently avoided punishment,
even as he racked up tons of allegations:
-R. Kelly. -(man boos)
But now that may finally be changing.
For decades as his career soared, singer R. Kelly
has denied repeated claims of sexual misconduct.
But now some of his alleged victims are speaking out
in a powerful new docuseries
about the sexual, mental and physical abuse
they claim they suffered at his hands.
♪ I believe I can fly... ♪
He's the singer known for hits
like "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Ignition."
♪ So, baby, gimme that toot, toot ♪
♪ And lemme give you that beep, beep... ♪
But these days, R. Kelly may be just as well-known
for the decades of allegations against him
of domestic abuse and sex with minors.
That's right. A documentary came out,
and it's six parts long, which is a ton of accusations.
Like, R. Kelly has more skeletons in his closet
than a Saudi embassy.
And this new documentary has been getting a lot of attention,
but it's resulted in one really strange side effect.
And while #SurvivingRKelly
was trending at number one on Twitter during its debut,
his music was getting renewed interest, as well...
♪ Now, I'm not trying to be rude... ♪
...with reports his music on some platforms
have actually seen a spike in streams.
So, just so we're on the same page,
America sees this documentary
about R. Kelly and underage girls,
and now they're consuming more of his music?
These are the same people, probably, who ordered more salad
when they learned romaine lettuce was killing people.
That's probably the same group.
They're like, "Who died? Man, give me a side salad.
"I know lettuce wouldn't do that to nobody who didn't deserve it.
Give me that side salad."
For more on these allegations against R. Kelly,
we turn to our music expert, Roy Wood Jr., everybody.
-Yes. That's right. -(cheering and applause)
Roy... I don't get it, man.
-This documentary comes out, right? -Mm-hmm.
And somehow his music is more popular.
What on earth is going on?
Well, first of all,
(bleep) R. Kelly.
(cheering and applause)
Like, just get that out the way.
There's no way...
there's no way to watch this documentary
and still be a fan of this guy.
And to be honest, I think the only reason
he's been getting away with this as long as he has
is because he was doing it to black girls.
I mean, he married...
I mean, he married Aaliyah when she was 15,
and nothing happened.
If he even thought about marrying
that little bald-headed girl from Stranger Things,
America would be like,
"I believe you can fly your ass to prison."
The-the bald-headed girl-- you mean Millie Bobby Brown?
Oh, is that her name? I-I don't know.
The black community only recognizes
one Bobby Brown at a time.
But-but, Roy, okay, what I don't get is, like,
why are these allegations
increasing his music's popularity?
I don't know, but I'll tell you what isn't helping: the news.
Every time they report on his crimes,
they do it like this.
Despite several previous allegations of abusive behavior,
Robert Kelly, or as the world knows him, R. Kelly,
has bounced back repeatedly.
But one accuser tells us she now believes
things this time may be different.
♪ But, hey, pretty girl, I'm feelin' you ♪
♪ The way you do the things you do... ♪
(laughter)
You can't talk about R. Kelly's supposed crimes,
then play "Ignition."
That song is irresistible.
You're sitting there watching the news all angry.
"How could this monster prey on these innocent...
Ooh, my God, that's my jam!"
(vocalizing)
(cheering and applause)
You can't do that.
Stop playing his music and just tell us what he did.
Just-just say what he did.
Can you imagine how hard it would have been
to stay mad at Bill Cosby
if every time they reported on his crimes,
they did stuff like this?
Breaking tonight, TV icon Bill Cosby
now a convicted felon.
Found guilty of sexual assault.
(vocalizes)
(laughter)
Trevor, what are you doing?
Oh, I... I'm downloading old Cosby episodes.
-That was funny. -No! No!
That's what I'm talking about.
That's the shit I'm talking about, man.
Sorry, Roy, but look, but R. Kelly has written
and produced so many songs for himself, for other artists.
It's almost impossible to completely avoid his music.
Maybe for you. I can tell you what I'm-a start doing.
Have you seen Bird Box yet?
(laughter)
You ain't seen Bird Box? Bird Box is a movie
about a white lady cussing at her kids in a rowboat,
and from what I learned in this movie
is that if you don't want something to get to you,
you got to block it out, right?
You just got to... got to block it out.
But instead of covering my eyes, I'm-a start covering my ears,
and I'm-a call it the R. Kelly Challenge.
That way people can focus on what he did
and not get seduced by his music.
-That is genius. Roy Wood Jr. -See? I can't hear anything.
-That is genius. Wow! -(cheering and applause)
-See, that's all they have these days. -That's amazing.
-That's really amazing. -What you have to understand, Trevor,
-is that the Bird Box teaches us -No, we're good. We're good.
-that things that look good -Roy. Roy.
-might not be good for you. -Roy.
It's an allegory for what's really going on in the world.
-We're good. You can take it off. -No, no, no!
Don't touch it, man! They might be playing R. Kelly!
-No, you need to take it off. -They might be playing R. Kelly!
I can't take this off!