R. Kelly‘s former longtime girlfriend, Dominique Gardner, speaks out as the singer attended a court hearing over his ongoing child support case.
In an interview with The New Yorker published on Wednesday, the 27-year-old accused the disgraced musician of beating her with an extension cord.
Related: R. Kelly’s Dying, Former Lawyer Claims The Singer Is ‘Guilty As Hell’
Gardner — who was featured on Surviving R. Kelly, which documented her mother, Michelle Kramer, rescuing her from a Los Angeles hotel — first met Kelly in mid-2009, after friend, Jerhonda Johnson, passed along his phone number. (Johnson, now Jerhonda Pace, is one of the four victims in the ten aggravated sexual abuse charges case against Kelly.)
She said she first became intimate with Kelly after she graduated from high school at 17, which is the age of consent in Illinois. Kelly was then 42.
In July 2009, police visited Kelly’s Olympia Fields mansion in search of Gardner after her concerned family contacted authorities. However, Gardner was at her cousin’s house at the time, and authorities left without taking action. Additionally, they did not have a search warrant.
In 2015, Gardner began living with Kelly, and five other steady girlfriends, in addition to other women who came and went.
Contrary to previous reports, Gardner does not use the term “rules” to describe Kelly’s alleged controlling behavior. However, she said he took away his girlfriends’ phones, replaced them with new ones to be used only with him, and did not allow them to contact their parents, family members, or friends. Additionally, he allegedly told them to wear baggy gym clothes, to not look at or speak to other men, and to ask for his permission to eat or go to the bathroom.
She revealed:
“I couldn’t even have a drink without his permission… I’m a grown-ass woman, and I’ve gotta ask you if I want a drink? Everything you do, you have to ask him. That’s not living, that’s not normal. I’ve got to ask to use the f**king bathroom? Are you serious? I’m about to pee on myself if I can’t get in contact with you. What the f**k is this?”
Gardner also said she was the “tomboy” among Kelly’s girlfriends, and was the most rebellious. Because of this, she allegedly suffered “consequences,” including spankings, slappings, beatings, and being hit with an extension cord.
When she threw a carrot at Kelly, “he grabbed me and he pulled my hair out, and I had, like, patches torn from my hair.”
The “consequences” came when Kelly “felt as [if] we disrespected him or disobeyed him. It’s like a parent when your children go against your word.”
Ultimately, she stayed with the singer for nine years.
After being reunited with her mother last May, she returned to the musician three days later and stayed with him for about two more weeks, until she finally walked away for good.
She now lives on the North Side of Chicago, and is working and saving money for a studio apartment of her own.
Despite her alleged drama, she does not regret her time with Kelly, and refused to associate him with words such as “cult” and “brainwashed.”
“I loved him to death, you know what I’m sayin’? But he needs help. Who doesn’t need help?… I am not just about to spread lies about him… I wouldn’t even say ‘mind games.’ It was just the fact that he tried to break me… I couldn’t be broken. He wanted that control over me, and I wouldn’t give him that power. So, he figured, like, If I don’t give her food, she’ll come around. Nope. I’d rather die than come around and give you my soul.”
On Wednesday, Kelly attended a court hearing in Chicago regarding his ongoing child support problems.
Over the weekend, he was released from jail after he was arrested a week ago for failing to pay $161,633 he owed in back child support payments.
Before the hearing, NBC News reports Kelly’s publicist, Darryl Johnson, said the singer wants to petition to lower his monthly child support payments, as he is unable to work because of “all these accusations and lies.”
Afterward, Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, told press he could not comment on what happened inside the courtroom because the case is under seal. Although, it’s being reported his lawyer confirmed there won’t be a change to the $21,000 monthly payments.
Kelly is due back in court for his chid support case in May.
[Image via CBS This Morning/PNP/WENN.]
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