https://www.facebook.com/exavierpope/videos/1537120339928418/
Despite a new lawsuit filed against him stemming from his sexual behavior, R. Kelly seems to feel invincible in the age of #MeToo.
A Facebook Live stream shared by podcaster Exavier Pope Friday, May 18 shows Kelly smoking a cigar and boldly declaring he is here to stay no matter what.
“I got a million motherf—ers hatin’ me, or 40 billion motherf—ers lovin’ me, you know what I’m sayin’?” the crooner says. “And Ima tell you somethin’, Ima take this musical s—, and Ima inject these motherf—ers with this musical, beautiful s—.
“I’m handcuffed by my destiny,” he continues. “It’s too late, they shoulda did this s— 30 years ago. It’s too late. The music has been injected into the world. Ok? I hired my motherf—in’ self.”
The singer later raised a toast to his backers — “all the strong motherf—ers in here right now” — who he credited for encouraging him to keep pushing forward.
“‘Cause I have a basketball mentality. You understand? As long as I got the ball, the world is on defense,” he said.
Several fans have since dropped their two cents on the matter.
“It’s never too late bro….” someone commented. “They got Bill Cosby 30 years later lol.”
“I love how cocky he is, how he feels invincible… his day is coming,” someone said. “And it’s bittersweet, [because] yes, he should have been tried and convicted 20 years ago. Aaliyah’s parents should’ve had his ass under the jail…”
However, not everyone was convinced Kelly’s speech was referencing his allegations.
“That speech had nothing to do with #MeToo, it’s about Black men pursuing their dreams in business,” one person wrote. “I’m not an R. Kelly fan anymore, either, and I don’t support his music because of what we all know he did to those poor girls, but stop lying. Take him down righteously.”
“[You’re] really reaching with your post,” someone toldPope.
Still, as other stars — like Bill Cosby and Matt Lauer — have seen their careers stall, Kelly has seen his career continue despite growing claims of sexual abuse.
Spotify removed his music from its official playlists and #MuteRKelly had gained more support. Yet fans still flock to his concerts despite canceled shows and his music streaming numbers have increased.
