A Dallas attorney filed a lawsuit Monday claiming Grammy Award-winning artist R. Kelly knowingly gave his client a sexually transmitted disease. Faith Rodgers, who was 19 at the time, accuses Kelly of “willfully, deliberately and maliciously” infecting her with herpes and sexual battery. She also claims Kelly “mentally, physically and verbally” abused her.
Rodgers said in an interview that she was in a relationship with Kelly for nearly a year before leaving. During that time she said Kelly instructed her to call him “daddy” and told her his goal was to teach her how to have sex like a “mature woman.” Rodgers said he even introduced her to one of five women Kelly allegedly said he was “raising.”
After a series of sexual misconduct allegations by former girlfriends, several music streaming services, from Spotify to Apple, have removed R. Kelly’s songs from their playlists. A #MuteRKelly movement supported by the likes of Ava DuVernay, Kerry Washington and Viola Davis is also growing.
Kelly and his lawyers have denied all allegations.
