STRICT REGIME

Former Manager: R. Kelly Docked My Pay for Booking Male Disney World Tour Guide

Tom Arnold told jurors that a last-minute trip forced him to book a man as a tour guide—defying a key rule the singer allegedly imposed on girlfriends.

A former studio manager for R. Kelly testified on Thursday that he ultimately left his job after being docked a week’s pay for booking a male Disney World tour guide for the singer and his girlfriends.

Tom Arnold, who said he worked for Kelly for over eight years, said that week’s “fine”—which cost him about $1,500—came after he was forced to book a male tour guide for a “very last minute” trip for the singer and some “female guests.”

“Nobody was available,” Arnold said about his decision to book a Disney male guide even though one of Kelly’s rules insisted it “always had to be a female tour guide.” The tour guide also went against the alleged rule that Kelly’s girlfriends not be around other males—or look at them in the eye if they were in the same vicinity.

Arnold said that when Kelly and his guests arrived at the Orlando theme park, the singer stepped off the tour bus, saw the male guide, and immediately canceled “the Disney experience.” The former studio and tour manager noted that this was not the first time his pay was docked for disobeying Kelly’s intense regime.

“We were all fined because someone ate his donuts,” Arnold said.

Kelly, 54, faces charges including racketeering based on kidnapping, sexual exploitation of children, and forced labor. He is also charged with violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of people across state lines for sex.

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Pilar MelendezSenior National Reporter

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