Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault, and rape. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Lady Gaga has become the latest artist to distance themselves from controversial artist R. Kelly, apologising for previously collaborating with the rapper.
Premiering late last week, Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly is an in-depth look at the accusations made against the controversial artist, including such claims that he has had sex with underage girls, has physically abused numerous women, and even ran a “sex cult” from his Chicago home.
While the documentary has broken viewership records for the US network, it’s also had a rather unfortunate side-effect, with Kelly’s music receiving a 16% surge on streaming service Spotify.
However, the documentary also featured interviews with a number of people who had worked with R. Kelly, including Chance The Rapper, who explained that their 2015 collaboration was “a mistake”.
Now, Lady Gaga has weighed in on the matter, issuing an apology for her decision to work with Kelly back in 2013.
I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault: pic.twitter.com/67sz4WpV3i
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 10, 2019
In October of 2013, Lady Gaga released ‘Do What You Want’, the second single from her third studio album, ARTPOP. Featuring vocals from R. Kelly, the lyrics include lines such as “Do what you want/what you want with my body”, words that were controversial even half a decade ago given the history of allegations made against him.
Now in an impassioned note on Twitter, Lady Gaga explained that she sides with the women telling their stories about R. Kelly, and wholeheartedly apologises for her “poor judgment” in working with the artist all those years ago.
“What I am hearing about the allegations against R Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible,” Lady Gaga began. “As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and video at a dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life.”
“The song is called ‘Do What U Want (With My Body)’, I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time.”
“If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I’d tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in— or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation—to seek help, and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we’ve been through.”
Check out Lady Gaga’s ‘Million Reasons’:
Near the end of the note, Lady Gaga explains her decision to remove the R. Kelly version of the song from streaming services, a move which has seen fans suggest that she replace the song with the Christina Aguilera remix, which removes Kelly’s vocals from the track completely.
“I can’t go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men, and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault,” Gaga continues. “I have demonstrated my stance on this issue and others many times throughout my career.”
“I share this not to make excuses for myself, but to explain. Til it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels. But I do know how I feel now. I intend to remove this song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms and will not be working with him again.”
“I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner. I love you.”
While R. Kelly hasn’t responded to Lady Gaga’s message as yet, the artist is reportedly going into damage control, allegedly expressing his desire to “sue everyone” involved in the production of the Surviving R. Kelly documentary.
Check out Lady Gaga’s ‘Do What You Want (feat. Christina Aguilera)’:
