Spiritual Life Coach Iyanla Vanzant claimed singer R. Kelly reached out to her for help before the airing of the Lifetime docu-series “Surviving R. Kelly”, but was turned down because he didn’t meet specific criteria.
“Are they willing? Are they ready? Do they have the capacity to do the work? He didn’t have it, the emotional capacity, he just didn’t have it,” Vanzant told ABC News on Thursday, Jan. 10.
Vanzant has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Network for six seasons with her series “Fix My Life” which helps people in need of healing hash-out their past traumas including many celebrities.
photo courtesy @iyanlavanzant & @rkelly Instagram/ (L) Iyanla & (R) R. Kelly
She told ABC radio, that based on her evaluation of the “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” singer, he wasn’t ready to dive into the traumatic experiences of his past.
“I knew, based on what I was looking at—the paces that I would have to take him through—it would have been brutal. He didn’t have the capacity,” Vanzant said.
In the recent documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” several women have come forward and accused the artist of physical, mental and verbal abuse. Many of the accusers claimed to be underage at the time.
The singer and his legal team have consistently denied allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct. R. Kelly’s attorney Steven Greenberg told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Jan 9., that the claims against his client were untrue.
“We know what happened, and we know those things didn’t happen,” said Greenberg. “The allegations aren’t true because he never knowingly had sex with an underage woman, he never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone.”
For Vanzant, she’s been asked by several fans as to why none of R. Kelly’s accusers have appeared on her show. Her answer is that many aren’t ready for the healing process.
“Stop texting me telling me to work with the survivors. What’s the fix?” the spiritual healer said. “There’s no fix other than them doing their healing where they get to the place where they can recapture their worth, their innocence, their dignity to the point where they can forgive. They ain’t there yet.”
Several major celebrities have spoken out against the R&B singer since the airing of the “Surviving R. Kelly” series including singer John Legend, actress KeKe Palmer and pop artist Lady Gaga who removed her 2013 song “Do What U Want” featuring R. Kelly from streaming platforms.
