In the midst of a new criminal investigation into R. Kelly following decades of sexual abuse allegations, a report surfaced of a non-disclosure agreement Kelly forced his alleged victims to sign.
The NDA, obtained by The Blast, is copyrighted by RSK Enterprises, the R&B singer’s management company. The Blast reports that the document is what Kelly gave to women in his alleged sex cult to sign, and even gave one to the mother of one of his alleged victims when she came to visit her daughter.
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Click here to see photo of the document from The Blast.
The document refers to the signer “as a privileged member of Robert Kelly’s (‘Mr. Kelly’) team (the ‘Team’), which may allow me to access privileged and/or confidential and/or proprietary information only available to trusted members of Mr. Kelly related enterprises (the ‘Opportunities’).”
Those “opportunities” are referred to throughout the non-disclosure agreement but never clearly defined, according to the news outlet. The specifics of what constitutes confidential agreements cover seven areas: “The premise and concept of his intellectual property; Mr. Kelly’s business and private life; the business activities of the Company and/or Mr. Kelly; the Company’s employment practices or policies; ‘The activities occurring in connection with the Opportunities’; ideas, concepts or business plans disclosed by the company; and ‘the outcome of the Opportunity.’”
The signee also agrees not to disclose any confidential information to “other team members and/or officers of the Company except where there is a specific reason to know.”
They also must “ensure that my agents, family, employees and all persons that I introduce to Mr. Kelly and his affiliates are obligated to keep confidential and never disclose, use, misappropriate, or confirm or deny the veracity of, any statement concerning Mr. Kelly, the Company and any and all entities affiliated with Mr. Kelly.”
If the signee — or any of those people listed in the clause above — breaches the deal, they agree to be held liable.
The NDA also prohibits the signee from talking to the press, as is standard with a document of its type. “During and after my involvement in the Team, I shall not directly or through any publicity representative or otherwise circulate, publish or otherwise disseminate any news story, article, book or other publicity about or relating to the Confidential Information,” it reads.
The document also requires the signee to agree not to sue the company.
Kelly, 52, was reportedly dropped by his record label, Sony Music, on Friday amid mounting pressure for the company to part ways with him. It’s unclear if the company is still on the hook to pay him for not producing new music. Variety reported that Sony will not make an announcement to the general public, and that Kelly’s presence will remain on the RCA website and that his black catalogue will remain with RCA/Sony.
Accusations of sexual misconduct against Kelly date back more than 20 years. He was charged with child pornography in 2000 after a video surfaced showing him having sex with an underage woman. He was cleared of the charge in 2008 after the woman refused to testify.
In 1995, at age 27, he briefly married the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time.
Last year, reports surfaced of Kelly holding women captive in a “sex cult.”
Kelly has vehemently denied the accusations against him, with his lawyer Steve Greenberg calling those who appeared in the recently-released Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which reportedly sparked a criminal investigation, “a bunch of disgruntled people who are looking for their 15 minutes of TMZ fame.”
