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    1. Culture

    R Kelly has come after Lady Gaga following her apology for defending him

    'It’s unfortunate that her intelligence go to such a short level'

    Jenny Proudfoot's avatar
    By Jenny Proudfoot
    Published 7 March 2019 In Features

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    'It’s unfortunate that her intelligence go to such a short level'

    Lady Gaga made news this month when she finally broke her silence on the allegations of sexual and physical abuse against R. Kelly, something people have been pressuring her to do for a while.

    Gaga worked with the R&B star, collaborating with him on 2013 song, ‘Do What U Want (With My Body)’, a duet she has now vowed to remove from streaming services.

    While the allegations against R. Kelly were made a long time ago (spanning decades), it was the recent broadcasting of a new documentary about the singer that prompted a lot of people to take them seriously, with the rapper indicted on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse last week.

    After defending him in a press conference back in 2013 and allegedly declining to be interviewed for the 2018 documentary, Gaga broke her silence earlier this year.

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    ‘I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously,’ she stated. ‘As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life.’

    She continued: ‘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.

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    ‘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.’

    ‘I’m sorry, both my for my poor judgement when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner,’ she concluded.

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    Frank Micelotta/REX/Shutterstock
    (Image credit: Frank Micelotta/REX/Shutterstock)

    This week R. Kelly sat down for an interview with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King where he denied the allegations of sexual abuse. But when King brought up the response from the music industry, he had a lot to say about Gaga.

    ‘[Lady Gaga is] a very great talent and all and it’s unfortunate that her intelligence go to such a short level when it comes to that,’ he stated. ‘You know, I have nothing against none of these artists, but I think it’s not professional for them to do that, because something like this can happen to any artist, anybody famous. Anybody famous can get accused of so many different things.’

    Lady Gaga has yet to respond.

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    Jenny Proudfoot
    Jenny Proudfoot
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    Contributing Features Editor

    Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

    In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.

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