Lady Gaga apologizes for R. Kelly duet, vows to pull it from streaming services
Lady Gaga broke her silence on R. Kelly on Wednesday night , finally acknowledging the mounting allegations of sexual misconduct against the R&B singer and apologizing for her 2013 collaboration with him.
The “A Star Is Born†actress wrote on Twitter that she stood behind Kelly’s accusers and explained that when she chose to work with the “Ignition†singer, she was at a dark time in her life, as she struggled with the aftermath of her own sexual assault.
“The song is called ‘Do What U Want (With My Body),’ I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time,†Gaga shared, adding that she wished she could go back and encourage her younger self to seek the help she so clearly needed.
The “Poker Face†singer then announced her intent to remove the song from streaming services, including iTunes.
Though accusations of misconduct — including alleged sexual, mental and physical abuse of underage girls, some as young as 13 — have swirled around Kelly for nearly 25 years, the allegations found new life after Lifetime’s six-part docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly†aired last week. Kelly has denied the allegations.
Gaga also wrote about her long history of support for sexual assault survivors of all kinds, clarifying that she mentions it “not to make excuses for myself, but to explain.â€
“Til it happens to you,†she continued, echoing the lyrics of her Oscar-nominated song from the campus rape documentary “The Hunting Ground,†“you don’t know how it feels.
“I’m sorry,†she concluded, “both for my poor judgement when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner. I love you.â€
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