A woman who has chosen to remain anonymous will speak publicly, for the first time, about what she claims was her sexual abuse encounters with R. Kelly. Recent court documents have only identified Lanita Carter as "L.C.," but Carter sat down with CBS This Morning to share what she says is her truth about the singer.
According to Carter, she once acted as Kelly's hair braider for two years. In a clip of her interview, Carter says, “This is a release,” she says in a clip from the interview. “I’ve been carrying this since 2003. I have had to sit on a public bus and watch public conversation. ‘Did you hear about what they did with R. Kelly? They need to leave that man alone.’ And I can’t stand up for myself.”
“Today I say, no more,” she says. “You can talk about me. You can not like what I’m sayin’ about your favorite singer. But this is my life… This is my truth. This is what I have. If I die tomorrow, I know that I told the truth. I know that I want to be the best person I could be. I know that I want to help people. If it’s anybody that wants to speak [their] truth, it’s hard when it’s a celebrity. It’s not easy. It’s not easy if it wasn’t a celebrity. It makes it 10 times worse.”
“I was sexually abused by him and I live after that,” Carter said. “I try to pick up the pieces every day. It’s hard but I know I’ll get through it. I’m not ashamed of my past anymore." Carter states that Kelly exposed himself to her and attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him when she was 24-years-old. In the documents that detail her charges, it's noted that Kelly's DNA was matched to a semen sample that was found on one of her shirts.
“Robert Kelly then masturbated and ejaculated onto the victim and spit in her face several times,” the document reads. “The shirt the victim was wearing was submitted to [Illinois State Police] for DNA testing and semen was identified on the shirt. The male DNA identified in the semen sample is a match to Robert Kelly’s DNA profile.”
Kelly has denied all accusations of child sexual abuse, including the recent 10 charges he faces. In 2008, he was acquitted of 14 charges of child pornography. Carter's full interview will air tomorrow at 7 a.m. to 9 a.m ET/PT.
