R. Kelly’s Girlfriend Joycelyn Savage Denies Abuse: ‘Someone Is Impersonating Me’ Online
‘REALLY REALLY SAD’
R. Kelly’s girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage, has denied being behind an online account that alleged she’s a “victim” of the disgraced singer. In a three-minute TMZ video, Savage, 24, claimed she did not make the damning accusations on Instagram and Patreon last month. “Please do not believe what you see and hear on social media. Someone is impersonating me,” she said in a prepared statement. “I would never in a million years hurt him like this. I would never do this. It’s just really really sad that somebody would pretend to be me and put it out in the world and say that I’m a victim, that I am brainwashed, I’m a sex slave—it doesn’t get worse than that,” Savage said. “I am truly tired of all the lies they are saying about the man we love so much and our best friend R. Kelly. It has been said that I have left him and that he has abused me and all kinds of nonsense.”
Several news outlets, including The Daily Beast, reported that the posts said Savage was “risking [her] life” to share her story on Patreon. But on Nov. 26, after several questions were raised about the authenticity of the posts, the crowdfunding membership platform took them down due to “potential impersonation.” The posts said Savage moved into Kelly’s home after the pair met at a concert in 2015, and she soon became a “victim” of his “controlling behavior,” which included “commands” to call him “Master” or “Daddy” and threats to ruin her music career prospects if she expressed her concerns about leaving. The lawyer for the 24-year-old’s family, Gerald Griggs, said they were “saddened and disappointed” to learn the account was claiming to be her was fake.