March 4, 2026
Best of Season 1: "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY: How R. Kelly America's R&B King Became a Sexual Predator" Part 1
How did the man behind one of the most inspirational songs in music history become one of America's most notorious predators? Reid Carter exposes R. Kelly's three-decade reign of terror, from his secret marriage to 15-year-old Aaliyah to the "cult" allegations that finally awakened America. Discover how the music industry, law enforcement, and society itself protected a monster hiding in plain sight. When your biggest hit is about believing you can fly, the fall to earth is absolutely devastating. Justice isn't always rhythmic, but it's absolutely riveting.
To become a premium subscriber (no ads and no feed drops) visit caloroga.com/plus. For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which seays UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. You also get 25+ other shows on the network ad-free! Go to Caloroga.com for all our shows!
Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!
Join the Celebrity Trials community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Celebrity Trials Podcast" on either platform.
You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Reid Carter's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.
But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.
We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Reid's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.
WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.200
Celebrity Trials is kicking off season two with a new
2
00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:06.360
host and new name. Hey, I'm Garrett Fisher, and starting
3
00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:08.720
March sixteenth, I'll be the new host on Daily Crime
4
00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.000
and Justice. It's the same great show, now with extra
5
00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.759
crime and extra justice. In the meantime, Please enjoy this
6
00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.760
encore performance of one of Celebrity Trials classic episodes. See
7
00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.280
you on March sixteenth. We'll miss you, Read Carter, and
8
00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.039
wish you the best morning.
9
00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:27.960
This episode contains references to sexual situations that may be
10
00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:40.840
disturbing to some listeners. Please proceed with caution. Callarogashark Media.
11
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:45.399
Good morning, I'm Read Carter, and welcome to Celebrity Trials.
12
00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:48.719
While we bring you all the latest from current trials
13
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:52.359
happening right now, there aren't many major proceedings underway at
14
00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.240
the moment, so we're taking you back to explore some
15
00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:58.920
of the greatest Celebrity Trials ever, cases that didn't just
16
00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.759
make headlines, but changed how we think about fame, power,
17
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.879
and justice. Remember, you don't have to be a celebrity
18
00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:09.719
going in, but you will be one when the verdict
19
00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:13.599
comes down. Recently, R Kelly has been back in the
20
00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.359
news with shocking claims about prison, murder plots, and attempts
21
00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.879
to secure his release. It's the latest chapter in a
22
00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:27.959
story that spans three decades of allegations, denials, and ultimately justice.
23
00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.560
Let's go back to understand how we got here. For
24
00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:35.439
nearly three decades, Robert Sylvester Kelly was one of the
25
00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:39.040
most successful R and B artists in history. His hit
26
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:42.239
about Believing You Could Fly became an anthem of hope
27
00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:46.000
and possibility. Behind the music, however, was a man who
28
00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:49.799
preyed on young girls and boys, using his fame as
29
00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.920
a weapon and his enterprise as a hunting ground. This
30
00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.439
is the story of how one of America's most beloved
31
00:01:56.480 --> 00:02:00.000
singers became one of its most notorious predators, and how
32
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.480
how it took a cultural revolution to finally bring him down.
33
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:07.599
Let me paint you the picture of R. Kelly's America
34
00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:11.159
in the nineteen nineties. This was the era of Whitney Houston,
35
00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:15.400
Mariah Carey and Boys Two Men. R and B was
36
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.159
the soundtrack of romance, and Kelly was its undisputed king,
37
00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:23.360
multiple Grammy Awards, chart topping albums, and a voice that
38
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:26.879
could make grown women weep. He wasn't just a musician.
39
00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:30.840
He was a cultural force, but even during his meteoric rise,
40
00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:34.240
there were warning signs that everyone chose to ignore. R.
41
00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:37.280
Kelly meets a twelve year old girl named Aliah Haughton
42
00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:42.520
through her uncle Barry Hankerson. Kelly is already an established artist,
43
00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.919
twenty four years old and hungry for his next big project.
44
00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.319
Aliyah is a child with an extraordinary voice and dreams
45
00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:54.280
of stardom. What happened next should have ended Kelly's career
46
00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:58.960
before it really began. According to court testimony that would
47
00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:03.639
emerge decades later, Kelly began having sexual contact with Aliyah
48
00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.319
when she was just thirteen or fourteen years old. Think
49
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.479
about that for a moment. While the world was celebrating
50
00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.520
his musical genius, Kelly was systematically grooming and abusing a child.
51
00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:19.120
In nineteen ninety four, Kelly produced a Lah's debut album,
52
00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:23.599
the title age Ain't Nothing But a Number. Even then,
53
00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:26.319
he was telling us exactly who he was. We just
54
00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:31.479
weren't listening. August thirty first, nineteen ninety four, in a
55
00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.400
secret ceremony at the Sheraton Gateway Suites in Illinois, twenty
56
00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.639
seven year old R. Kelly married fifteen year old Aliyah.
57
00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.800
To make this legal, Kelly had bribed a state employee
58
00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.080
to create a fake ID listing Aaliyah as eighteen years old.
59
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.479
Let me be clear about what this was. A grown
60
00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.560
man using his wealth and influence to facilitate the rape
61
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.080
of a child, because that's what sex with a fifteen
62
00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.719
year old is, regardless of what the fake marriage certificate said.
63
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.360
Rige was annulled in February nineteen ninety five, but the
64
00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:07.080
damage was done. Kelly had established a pattern that would
65
00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:11.159
define the next three decades of his life. Find vulnerable
66
00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.439
young people, groom them, abuse them, and use legal maneuvers
67
00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:19.360
to avoid consequences. But here's what's truly disturbing about the
68
00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:26.360
Aliah situation. The music industry knew, record executives knew, lawyers knew,
69
00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.959
and they all decided that Kelly's hit making ability was
70
00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:35.279
more important than protecting a child. Barry Hankerson, Aliah's uncle,
71
00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.319
and the man who introduced her to Kelly, later expressed regret,
72
00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.120
but in the moment when it mattered, the adults who
73
00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:49.199
should have protected Aliyah chose profit over protection. Meanwhile, Kelly's
74
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:54.360
career soared hit after hit, album after album, and always
75
00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.800
more young girls gravitating toward the man who promised to
76
00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.360
make their dreams come true. Tiffany Hawkins, who had met
77
00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.759
Kelly when she was fifteen and he was twenty four,
78
00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:08.800
filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse. The suit detailed
79
00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:12.040
how Kelly had encouraged her to recruit other underage friends
80
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.399
for group sexual encounters. Kelly settled the case for two
81
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:21.600
hundred fifty thousand dollars, no admission of guilt, no consequences,
82
00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:25.959
just money changing hands to make the problem disappear. This
83
00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:31.040
became the Kelly template abuse get sued, pay settlement, continue abusing.
84
00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:35.160
The Chicago Sun Times, led by journalist Jim Deregatis, began
85
00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.800
investigating Kelly as early as two thousand. They reported that
86
00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.560
police had made two separate investigations into Kelly having sex
87
00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.519
with underage females, but both investigations were dropped due to
88
00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.560
lack of cooperation from the alleged victims. Here's something crucial
89
00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:54.399
to understand about predators like Kelly. They don't just abuse
90
00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:58.800
their victims, They train them to protect their abuser. Through
91
00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.759
a combination of cycle logical manipulation, financial dependency, and threats,
92
00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:09.480
victims become complicit in their own exploitation. Kelly perfected this system.
93
00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:12.639
He would tell young girls they were special, that he
94
00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.959
loved them, that speaking out would destroy not just him,
95
00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.079
but them too. He created a world where victims felt
96
00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:25.800
responsible for protecting their abuser. February eighth, two thousand and two,
97
00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.399
Everything should have changed. That's the day the Chicago Sun
98
00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:34.000
Times published a story about a videotape that allegedly showed
99
00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:38.240
Kelly engaging in sexual acts with an underage girl, including
100
00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:41.120
urinating on her. The tape had been sent to the
101
00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:44.839
newspaper by an anonymous source. The timing was perfect for
102
00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.680
maximum humiliation. Kelly was scheduled to perform at the opening
103
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:52.600
ceremony of the Winter Olympics that same day. While millions
104
00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:56.519
watched him sing about inspiration and achievement. A video allegedly
105
00:06:56.600 --> 00:07:00.120
showing him abusing a child was making headlines across America.
106
00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.759
By June two thousand and two, Kelly was indicted in
107
00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.560
Chicago on twenty one counts of child pornography. He was
108
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:11.839
arrested in Florida, posted seven hundred fifty thousand dollars bail,
109
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:16.000
and was released after one night in jail. One night
110
00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:20.639
for allegedly producing child pornography. This is where the story
111
00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:25.240
becomes even more infuriating. Despite overwhelming evidence, despite a video
112
00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:29.680
that allegedly showed Kelly's face clearly, despite years of accusations
113
00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:33.600
and settlements, the case dragged on for six years, six
114
00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:37.399
years during which Kelly continued to tour, continued to make music,
115
00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:41.600
continued to have access to young fans who worshiped him.
116
00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.639
You know what's fascinating about the two thousand and two
117
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:48.839
to two thousand and eight period. Kelly wasn't hiding, he
118
00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:51.959
wasn't lying low or avoiding the spotlight. He was making
119
00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:54.560
some of the biggest hits of his career, touring the
120
00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.480
world and maintaining his image as the king of R
121
00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.560
and B. Because the music industry had made a calculation,
122
00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.720
Kelly's crimes were less important than Kelly's profits. During this period,
123
00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.680
Kelly released multiple albums that went platinum. He collaborated with
124
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:13.199
the biggest names in music. He performed at major award shows.
125
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:18.600
The machine kept rolling, and everyone involved record labels, radio stations,
126
00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:24.199
concert venues, fellow artists pretended like nothing was happening. Meanwhile,
127
00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.480
the evidence of his systematic abuse continued to mount. In
128
00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.399
twenty seventeen, Jim Darrow Gaddis published a explosive investigation for
129
00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:38.519
BuzzFeed that detailed what he called Kelly's cult. Multiple families
130
00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:41.320
had come forward claiming that Kelly was holding their adult
131
00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:43.919
daughters against their will in a network of homes in
132
00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.240
Chicago and Atlanta. The allegations were horrifying. Kelly allegedly controlled
133
00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:52.279
every aspect of these women's lives, from when they could
134
00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:54.720
eat and sleep to when they could use the bathroom.
135
00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:57.879
He required them to call him daddy and seek permission
136
00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.879
for basic human functions. Former members of Kelly's inner circle
137
00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.600
described a systematic operation designed to break down young women's
138
00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:10.639
independence and turn them into completely dependent servants. The women
139
00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:13.799
were required to wear baggy clothes when not with Kelly,
140
00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:16.960
forbidden from looking at or speaking to other men, and
141
00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:21.200
isolated from their families and friends. This wasn't just abuse,
142
00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:25.039
it was psychological warfare designed to destroy a person's sense
143
00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.559
of self. But perhaps most telling was the industry's response
144
00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:34.279
to these allegations silence. Major artists continued to collaborate with Kelly.
145
00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:39.360
Radio stations continued to play his music, record labels continued
146
00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.399
to promote his work. The message was clear, as long
147
00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:47.120
as Kelly could still sell records, his victims were disposable.
148
00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.639
The Washington Post conducted an extensive investigation into how the
149
00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.120
music industry enabled Kelly. They found that as early as
150
00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.879
nineteen ninety four, Kelly's tour manager had urged Jive Records
151
00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.120
to tell Kelly they wouldn't release his music if he
152
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.080
continued having incidents with young women and miners after every concert.
153
00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:08.559
The label chose not to act on this warning. Epic
154
00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:13.240
Records executives allegedly avoided viewing evidence of Kelly's crimes because
155
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.840
they didn't want to be forced to drop him. When
156
00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.559
they were presented with a tape that allegedly showed Kelly
157
00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.200
having sex with an underage girl, one executive simply warned
158
00:10:22.279 --> 00:10:24.759
Kelly's assistant that if it turned out to be Kelly
159
00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.559
on the tape, they would drop him, but they made
160
00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.600
sure not to actually confirm whether it was Kelly on
161
00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:35.519
the tape. Think about the moral calculation here. These executives
162
00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.120
would rather maintain plausible deniability than protect children from a predator.
163
00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:57.960
Back in a moment, Welcome back to celebrity trials. I'm
164
00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.159
read Carter, and we're exploring how r Kelly's decades of
165
00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:05.600
abuse were finally exposed. June thirteenth, two thousand and eight,
166
00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:10.399
after six years of legal proceedings, a Chicago jury found R.
167
00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:14.000
Kelly not guilty on all fourteen counts of child pornography.
168
00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:18.519
How did this happen? Simple the alleged victim, now an adult,
169
00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:23.399
refused to testify. Kelly's defense team successfully argued that prosecutors
170
00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.720
couldn't prove the identity of the girl in the video,
171
00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.600
and without her testimony, the case fell apart. It was
172
00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:33.600
a devastating blow to justice and a vindication of Kelly's strategy,
173
00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.759
train your victims so well that they'll protect you even
174
00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:40.559
when you're on trial for abusing them. Kelly's defense lawyer
175
00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:44.480
later questioned the acquittal and Kelly's public proclamations of innocence,
176
00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.360
suggesting even his own attorney had doubts about his client's claims.
177
00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:51.320
But the acquittal gave Kelly a new lease on life.
178
00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:56.360
He continued touring, continued recording, and continued abusing the legal
179
00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:59.759
system had given him permission to keep going. For another decade,
180
00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.919
ke Kelley operated with virtual impunity. There were more allegations,
181
00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:08.399
more settlements, more young women who mysteriously disappeared into his orbit,
182
00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.440
but America had decided that as long as Kelly could
183
00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:16.559
still sing, his crimes didn't matter. Then something changed. The
184
00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.440
Me Too movement shifted our cultural understanding of power abuse
185
00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:25.360
and victim blaming. Suddenly, the excuses that had protected Kelly
186
00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:29.440
for decades, why didn't they come forward sooner? Why did
187
00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:34.919
they stay? What were they expecting? Weren't acceptable anymore. In
188
00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:40.799
January twenty nineteen, Lifetime aired Surviving R. Kelly, a six
189
00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:44.519
part documentary series that laid out three decades of abuse
190
00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:50.000
in excruciating detail. The documentary featured interviews with over fifty people,
191
00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:55.320
including former Kelly employees, family members of victims, and most importantly,
192
00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:00.200
the survivors themselves. For the first time, Kelly's victims were
193
00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.799
given a platform to tell their stories without being filtered
194
00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:08.480
through defense attorneys or hostile cross examination. They spoke about
195
00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:13.159
the grooming, the control, the isolation, and the systematic destruction
196
00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.360
of their sense of self. The documentary was a cultural earthquake.
197
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.200
Within weeks, the Mute R. Kelly movement gained massive momentum.
198
00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:27.000
Protesters gathered outside Kelly's concerts, radio stations pulled his music
199
00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:32.120
streaming services removed him from playlists. Most importantly, RCA Records
200
00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:36.320
dropped Kelly after the documentary aired. After decades of profiting
201
00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.799
from his music while ignoring his crimes, the label finally
202
00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:43.080
decided that the cost of association had become too high.
203
00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:47.159
But the real impact of surviving R. Kelly wasn't commercial,
204
00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:53.639
It was legal. February twenty second, twenty nineteen, Kelly was
205
00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.679
charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Chicago.
206
00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.559
The charges alleged that from nineteen ninety eight to twenty ten,
207
00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.799
Kelly had sexually abused four females, three of whom were
208
00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:08.840
miners at the time. But this was just the beginning.
209
00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.480
Federal investigators had been building a case that would dwarf
210
00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:18.639
the state charges. July eleventh, twenty nineteen, Kelly was arrested
211
00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:23.399
on federal charges including racketeering, sex trafficking, and obstruction of justice.
212
00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:27.799
These weren't just abuse charges, they were organized crime charges
213
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:32.159
that treated Kelly's operation as a criminal enterprise. The federal
214
00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:34.799
indictment painted a picture of Kelly as the leader of
215
00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:39.240
a criminal organization that existed for one purpose to facilitate
216
00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:43.480
his sexual abuse of miners and young women. Here's what's
217
00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.159
fascinating about the R. Kelly case. For decades, everyone knew.
218
00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:53.720
The music industry knew, law enforcement knew, the media knew,
219
00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:59.000
his family and friends knew. His collaborators and employees knew.
220
00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.200
But as long as the hits kept coming and the
221
00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:04.399
money kept flowing, they all chose to look the other way.
222
00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.799
It wasn't ignorance that protected Kelly. It was wilful blindness,
223
00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:14.200
motivated by greed. Record executives who claimed they never concerned
224
00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:18.960
themselves with Kelly's private life were lying. You don't accidentally
225
00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:23.279
ignore three decades of abuse allegations. You don't accidentally fail
226
00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:25.759
to notice when teenage girls are being shuttled to your
227
00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:30.279
star's hotel rooms after every concert. The Kelly case reveals
228
00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:34.639
something ugly about American culture. We'll tolerate almost anything from
229
00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:40.440
someone who entertains us, will excuse the inexcusable, rationalize the unforgivable,
230
00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:44.039
and blame the victims instead of holding the perpetrator accountable.
231
00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:47.720
For thirty years, we treated R. Kelly's victims like they
232
00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:52.120
were lying, gold digging, attention seeking troublemakers. Turns out the
233
00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.039
only liar was the man behind the microphone. Kelly's downfall
234
00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:59.240
wasn't inevitable. It was the result of a cultural shift
235
00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:03.799
that finally valued victim's voices over a predator's profits. Surviving
236
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.679
r Kelly didn't reveal anything new. It just presented old
237
00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:12.799
truths in a way that society was finally ready to hear. Tomorrow,
238
00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.759
we'll explore how federal prosecutors built an ironclad case against
1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.200
2
00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:06.360
3
00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:08.720
4
00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.000
5
00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.759
6
00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.760
7
00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.280
8
00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.039
9
00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:27.960
10
00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:40.840
11
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:45.399
12
00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:48.719
13
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:52.359
14
00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.240
15
00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:58.920
16
00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.759
17
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.879
18
00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:09.719
19
00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:13.599
20
00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.359
21
00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.879
22
00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:27.959
23
00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.560
24
00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:35.439
25
00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:39.040
26
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:42.239
27
00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:46.000
28
00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:49.799
29
00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.920
30
00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.439
31
00:01:56.480 --> 00:02:00.000
32
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.480
33
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:07.599
34
00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:11.159
35
00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:15.400
36
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.159
37
00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:23.360
38
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:26.879
39
00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:30.840
40
00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:34.240
41
00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:37.280
42
00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:42.520
43
00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.919
44
00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.319
45
00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:54.280
46
00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:58.960
47
00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:03.639
48
00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.319
49
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.479
50
00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.520
51
00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:19.120
52
00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:23.599
53
00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:26.319
54
00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:31.479
55
00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.400
56
00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.639
57
00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.800
58
00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.080
59
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.479
60
00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.560
61
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.080
62
00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.719
63
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.360
64
00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:07.080
65
00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:11.159
66
00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.439
67
00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:19.360
68
00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:26.360
69
00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.959
70
00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:35.279
71
00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.319
72
00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.120
73
00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:49.199
74
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:54.360
75
00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.800
76
00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.360
77
00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.759
78
00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:08.800
79
00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:12.040
80
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.399
81
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:21.600
82
00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:25.959
83
00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:31.040
84
00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:35.160
85
00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.800
86
00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.560
87
00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.519
88
00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.560
89
00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:54.399
90
00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:58.800
91
00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:03.759
92
00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:09.480
93
00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:12.639
94
00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.959
95
00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.079
96
00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:25.800
97
00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.399
98
00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:34.000
99
00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:38.240
100
00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:41.120
101
00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:44.839
102
00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.680
103
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:52.600
104
00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:56.519
105
00:06:56.600 --> 00:07:00.120
106
00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.759
107
00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.560
108
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:11.839
109
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:16.000
110
00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:20.639
111
00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:25.240
112
00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:29.680
113
00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:33.600
114
00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:37.399
115
00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:41.600
116
00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.639
117
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:48.839
118
00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:51.959
119
00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:54.560
120
00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.480
121
00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.560
122
00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.720
123
00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.680
124
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:13.199
125
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:18.600
126
00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:24.199
127
00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.480
128
00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.399
129
00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:38.519
130
00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:41.320
131
00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:43.919
132
00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.240
133
00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:52.279
134
00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:54.720
135
00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:57.879
136
00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.879
137
00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.600
138
00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:10.639
139
00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:13.799
140
00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:16.960
141
00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:21.200
142
00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:25.039
143
00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.559
144
00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:34.279
145
00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:39.360
146
00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.399
147
00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:47.120
148
00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.639
149
00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.120
150
00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.879
151
00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.120
152
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.080
153
00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:08.559
154
00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:13.240
155
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.840
156
00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.559
157
00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.200
158
00:10:22.279 --> 00:10:24.759
159
00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.559
160
00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.600
161
00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:35.519
162
00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.120
163
00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:57.960
164
00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.159
165
00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:05.600
166
00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:10.399
167
00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:14.000
168
00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:18.519
169
00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:23.399
170
00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.720
171
00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.600
172
00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:33.600
173
00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.759
174
00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:40.559
175
00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:44.480
176
00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.360
177
00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:51.320
178
00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:56.360
179
00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:59.759
180
00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.919
181
00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:08.399
182
00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.440
183
00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:16.559
184
00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.440
185
00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:25.360
186
00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:29.440
187
00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:34.919
188
00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:40.799
189
00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:44.519
190
00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:50.000
191
00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:55.320
192
00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:00.200
193
00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.799
194
00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:08.480
195
00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:13.159
196
00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.360
197
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.200
198
00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:27.000
199
00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:32.120
200
00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:36.320
201
00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.799
202
00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:43.080
203
00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:47.159
204
00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:53.639
205
00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.679
206
00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.559
207
00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.799
208
00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:08.840
209
00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.480
210
00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:18.639
211
00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:23.399
212
00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:27.799
213
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:32.159
214
00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:34.799
215
00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:39.240
216
00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:43.480
217
00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.159
218
00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:53.720
219
00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:59.000
220
00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.200
221
00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:04.399
222
00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.799
223
00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:14.200
224
00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:18.960
225
00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:23.279
226
00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:25.759
227
00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:30.279
228
00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:34.639
229
00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:40.440
230
00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:44.039
231
00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:47.720
232
00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:52.120
233
00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.039
234
00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:59.240
235
00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:03.799
236
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.679
237
00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:12.799
238
00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.759