Weeks after its premiere, the explosive Surviving R. Kelly docuseries continues to spark outrage and raise awareness regarding the allegations of sexual misconduct being made against the R&B singer.
After being criticized on Twitter for appearing to sympathize with Kelly during a recent concert in Chicago, Erykah Badu continues to talk about the disgraced singer. In response to a fan’s comment that she worked with Kelly and declined participating in the Lifetime documentary, Badu is looking to set the record straight.
“That’s not true,” she responded, addressing a fan’s rebuttal. “I’ve never worked with him, don’t know him personally, and was never asked to be a part of the documentary.”
The series’ executive producer, dream hampton, soon caught wind of the exchange and called out Badu. The producer explained how her team did, in fact, reach out to the singer. hampton noted that she was interested in Badu’s involvement in hopes of gaining further insight into Badu’s words at the 2015 Soul Train Awards. At the awards show, Badu introduced Kelly as her “brother” and added that he had “done more for black people than anyone.”
Badu’s response led to the exchange becoming heated.
“I WAS NOT EVER contacted by anyone, to be in [the] documentary,” she tweeted, going on to demand an apology.
“Apologize? Are you kidding,” hampton responded. “Again, you PUBLICLY said he did more for black people than anyone? If you want to apologize for that, fine, apology accepted, on behalf of Harriet and the whole crew. What you meant by calling him your brother from the stage, I’ll never know.”
During her performance in Chicago, Badu faced immediate backlash on social media after informing the audience she’s “putting up a prayer for R.” Her comments were met with boos from the crowd, leading her to later clarify her statements.
“I love you. Unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices,” she later wrote on Twitter. “I want healing for you and anyone you have hurt as a result of you being hurt. Is that strange to you? That’s all I’ve ever said. Anything else has been fabricated or taken out of context.”
Take a look at Erykah Badu’s exchange with producer dream hampton in the tweets below.