R. Kelly to Psychiatrist: ‘Aaliyah Wanted to Marry Me’
R. Kelly has always maintained that he never did anything illegal with Aaliyah. The two married in 1994 when he was 27, and she was 15. Upon her parents’ discovery, the marriage was annulled, and all contact between the two ceased. But in recent legal proceedings, Kelly reportedly revealed there was a marriage between him and Aaliyah, but it was her idea.
R. Kelly told the psychiatrist during a session that it was Aaliyah’s idea to get married
Ahead of Kelly’s first criminal trial, he had an evaluation done by a clinical assistant professor of Harvard Medical School, Renee Sorrentino. The convicted criminal’s team submitted the report ahead of his sentencing in hopes that it would work in his favor. Radar Online obtained a copy of the report.
During his session with the doctor, Kelly revealed that he met Aaliyah when he was 25 or 25, and she was 13 or 14 at the time. He was introduced to the singer by his manager, Barry Hankerson. Hankerson is also Aaliyah’s uncle and made the introduction so that Kelly would guide Aaliyah’s music career. According to Kelly, he spent two years with Aaliyah working on her debut album, and her mother Diana accompanied the young starlet to their recording sessions.
After an alleged conflict between him and Diane over Aaliyah wanting to travel to Chicago to work with him, Kelly says issues arose. He claims against her mother’s permission, Aaliyah traveled regardless and told Kelly she wanted to marry him.
Per the report, Kelly “described feeling like he was in trouble because she was already in Chicago, which was against her parent’s wishes. He told her if they married, she had to go home. They married in a hotel in Chicago. She then went home.”
He also insists he never had sex with Aaliyah, but he would have if she were of legal age. Court testimony from witnesses and accounts featured in Surviving R. Kelly state otherwise.
He reportedly married Aaliyah because she became pregnant with his child
Kelly’s conversation with the doctor differs from what his former road manager’s testimony. Demetrius Smith says he helped to orchestrate the marriage between Kelly and Aaliyah, alleging he obtained a fake ID for Aaliyah. She was 15 at the time, but the fake ID put Aaliyah’s age at 18.
“It shouldn’t have happened. It was wrong,” Smith said on the stand of his participation. “I shouldn’t be talking about Aaliyah, she’s not here.”
The fake ID did not have a birth date on it and was one of two cards Smith helped Kelly and Aaliyah illegally obtain ahead of their nuptials. He says the marriage came about because Kelly came to him in a panic under the belief that Aaliyah was pregnant with his child and was afraid he could go to jail.
Aaliyah’s uncle says the family knew of her relationship with R. Kelly
Hankerson claims that Aaliyah’s mother was aware of Kelly and Aaliyah’s relationship. Madame Noire reports that Hankerson told Dr. Oz in an interview: “[I] didn’t have a clue,” he said. “[I was] completely ignorant to it. I think my sister knew a lot more than what we thought she knew.”
He previously spoke with The Ricky Smiley Morning Show about his reaction to the marriage, noting the lasting impact it has had. “I had to really consider what my actions would be, and I found out that I was not a hardcore criminal because I couldn’t kill nobody,” he told the radio host. “So I took it to Minster Farrakhan, prayed about it, and decided to let God handle him…I just put a wall up to that. It’s just too emotional for me. It just brings back too many bad thoughts for my whole family. He impacted my whole family. It’s just a bad thing.”
