Chicago authorities paidR. Kellyanother visit on Friday after receiving an anonymous tip from a caller who claimed he was holding two women in his home against their will. After investigation, police deemed the tip “unfounded.”
Just a day earlier, cops interrupted the 52-year-old hit-making singer and producer’sbirthday partyin Chicago early on Thursday morning after receiving an erroneous call about a warrant out for Kelly’s arrest. A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department tells PEOPLE that the new tip was similarly “unfounded.”
“The State’s Attorney Office received an anonymous tip from [an] out-of-state caller, regarding two women being held against their will,” says officer Michelle Tannehill in a statement. “On January 11, 2019, 18th District Officers followed up on the tip, which involved checking the well-being of the two women specified in the tip. Officers made contact with Robert Kelly at his residence and were allowed inside. Officers spoke with both women who stated that they were there voluntarily, and there was nothing wrong. The tip was unfounded.”
R. Kelly.Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
TMZreports that the two women referred to in the statement are Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary, whose families both appeared in Lifetime’s shocking new docu-seriesSurviving R. Kelly.The series — which aired on Lifetime from Jan. 3 through Jan. 5 — featured wide-ranging interviews withR. Kelly’s family members, former friends and colleagues, but most notably, women who claim that for decades he used his power and influence to sexually andphysically abuse womenand young girls.
According toThe New York Times, investigators from theFulton County District Attorney’s Officein Georgia contacted Joycelyn’s parents, Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage, as well as their lawyer, Gerald A. Griggs, on Jan. 7. Timothy and Jonjelyn claim the singer is holding their daughter against her will.“We hope that it will turn into a fruitful investigation and it will result in the return of Joycelyn Savage to her family or, at the very least, that she start opening continuous conversations and interactions with her family like she had before she met Mr. Robert Sylvester Kelly,” Griggs previously told PEOPLE.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has declined PEOPLE’s request to comment.
TMZalso previously reported that the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into the allegations made in the docuseries, adding that investigators reached out toAsante McGee, who spoke to PEOPLE about her experience escaping from R. Kelly’s residence.
To date, no charges have been brought in Kelly’s part-time residence of Chicago. But Cook County state attorney Kim Foxx held apress conferenceon Jan. 8 to encourage any victims to “please come forward.”
“If we are going to take these allegations seriously — it isn’t one of those situations where it’s just forensics, we need actual witnesses and victims to have the courage to tell their stories,” she said. “We cannot do anything related to these allegations without the cooperation of victims and witnesses.”
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In 2008, a Cook County jury found Kellynot guiltyon 14 counts of child pornography charges.
Amid the increased outcry against Kelly, numerous stars have moved todenounce the singer, includingMeek Mill,Chance the Rapper,John LegendandLady Gaga.
In aninterview with the Associated Presson Friday, Chicago-based attorney Steve Greenberg called the documentary “disgusting” and claimed that producers told “disgruntled” women incriminating things to say about Kelly off camera in an effort to incriminate the Grammy winner.
“Some producer went running around and solicited all these people, did a Jerry Springer-esque show and there is all this uproar,” Greenberg said in the taped interview.
“The allegations aren’t true because he never knowingly had sex with an underage woman,” he continued in the AP interview. “He never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone.”
Prince Williams/WireImage
Producers for the program responded to Greenberg’s claims in a statement to PEOPLE, saying: “We are enormously proud of the series. The powerful stories from the women in the documentary speak for themselves. Their honesty and candor has resonated with millions of viewers.”
“We are here today to let Mr. Kelly know in no uncertain terms that he cannot and will not intimidate his alleged victims into keeping silent about their allegations,” said Allred.
If you or someone you know think they are being abused, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) now for anonymous, confidential help, available 24/7.
source: people.com
