Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
A bombshell BuzzFeed News report quotes several sets of parents claiming their daughters are being held against their will in a sex-obsessed, abusive “cult" by legendary R&B singer R. Kelly. Three former members of Kelly’s entourage also spoke to the outlet, confirming the parents’ claims of the singer’s cult-like and predatory behavior—one is quoted as saying “[Kelly] is a master at mind control.... He is a puppet master.” According to parents and the former crew members, Kelly: keeps a collection of young women at his homes in Atlanta and Chicago; replaces their cell phones with ones specifically used to communicate with him; requires they call him “daddy” and ask permission to leave their residence; films their sexual encounters with him; and punishes them verbally and physically when they break his “rules” such as appearing remotely flirtatious towards other men. The daughter of one set of parents have attempted to contact their child—now 21 years old—for two years but have been rebuffed by her claims that she is in a consenting relationship and is not being held against her will.