‘Surviving R. Kelly Part II’ reignites debate and pain

The first two episodes of “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning” premiered Thursday night and much like the original docuseries, there were plenty of tears.

Featuring five episodes airing over three consecutive nights, Lifetime launched a second season after the first six-hour docuseries, which aired in January 2019 and scored more than 26 million viewers, renewed interest in allegations of sexual misconduct over decades by Kelly.

In it, several of Kelly’s alleged victims and their families shared their emotional stories.

The Grammy-winning artist has denied multiple allegations of abuse, manipulation and inappropriate encounters with girls and young women.

Kelly has pleaded not guilty to a range of federal charges, including sexual exploitation of a child and kidnapping.

He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

Thursday’s episodes included interviews with two of Kelly’s brothers, alleged victims who did not appear in Season 1 and supporters of Kelly’s, including Lindsey Perryman-Dunn, who worked for the singer from 1999 to 2007.

Also featured is writer Jim DeRogatis, who was one of the first journalists who published reporting on allegations against Kelly in the early 2000s.

In the second season, DeRogatis spoke about the influence of the series.

“I was reporting many of these stories for years,” said DeRogatis, who wrote a 2017 Buzzfeed article that alleged Kelly had a “cult” of women whose families were being denied contact with them. “But the power of television to make people feel as if they met these women, so many of these people who I’d talked to, I’d had these experiences, but not all of America had.”

“Now people were hearing first hand these women tell their story,” he added. “I think that had an incredibly powerful impact.”

More of those stories were featured in the Season 2 premiere, including that of Tiffany Hawkins……..read more

 

Source: CNN

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