In the past, Lady Gaga has defended her decision to work with R. Kelly by saying that she too has had plenty of false stories written about her during her career. At the time, the pop star was giving Kellz the benefit of the doubt. Now, with dozens of women accusing him of sexual misconduct, it's become pretty clear to her that she needed to speak out to protect her own image.
Many artists have denounced R. Kelly since the Lifetime docu-series Surviving R. Kelly aired over the weekend and finally, Lady Gaga has issued an apology for her previous collaboration with the singer. In addition to her apology, she vowed to remove their collaboration, "Do What U Want," from iTunes and streaming services. Her statement reads:
"As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the 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."
She ends the message by apologizing for not speaking sooner and for her poor judgment. Gaga has been vocal about her experiences with sexual assault and she actively works with survivors to share her own story. Read her full statement below.
