R&B singer R.Kelly has been accused of holding six women against their will in an abusive ‘cult,’ Buzzfeed reports.
The publication claims the women live in various properties rented by the star, with the 50-year-old dictating what they can wear and eat, their sexual behaviour and all communication they have with the outside world.
Three former inner-circle members of Kelly’s entourage have spoken out about his shocking lifestyle, describing him as “a master at mind control.”
“You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom… He is a puppet master,” Kelly’s former personal assistant, Cheryl Mack, told BuzzFeed.
According to Mack, the women involved include a 25-year-old longtime friend of the record producer, a 19-year-old model often seen with him in public, a 26-year-old songwriter and an 18-year-old singer. A 31-year-old “den mother” also recently vacated the residence.
Mack further claims that Kelly refers to the women as his “babies” and forces them to call him “Daddy.”
A mother of one of the women has reportedly told police that her daughter is being held against her will.
Speaking with Buzzfeed, she opened up about the last time she saw her child in December 2016.
“It was as if she was brainwashed,” she told the publication.
“[She] looked like a prisoner. It was horrible. I hugged her and hugged her. But she kept saying she’s in love and [Kelly] is the one who cares for her. I don’t know what to do. I hope that if I get her back, I can get her treatment for victims of cults.”
In a statement to TMZ, a rep for Kelly slammed the explosive allegations, explaining the recording artist was “alarmed and disturbed by the recent revelations attributed to him.”
“Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such accusations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear is name,” the statement read.
This article originally appeared in New Idea.
