R. Kelly Accuses Prison Of Neglecting His Medical Needs: "I'm Scared For My Life"

BYAron A.Published on June 20, 20238.4K Views

R Kelly Appears In Court in Chicago For Status Hearing

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 17: Singer R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly is facing multiple sexual assault charges and is being held without bail. (Photo by Antonio Perez - Pool via Getty Images)

R Kelly previously underwent surgery for blood clots.

It appears that R Kelly is dealing with some serious medical issues but the prison’s medical staff is allegedly neglecting his needs. Initially reported by HipHopDX, a leaked phone call obtained by RapHouseTV emerged this morning of R Kelly expressing his concerns about medical attention surfaced online. In the call, Kelly claims that he’s made numerous complaints about his health without any doctors actually checking on him in any capacity. The R&B singer previously underwent surgery on his Achilles for blood clots. However, it's unclear if that's why he's sought medical attention.

“I don’t deserve to die because somebody miscommunicated or somebody took a guess at what’s going on with my leg. I’m not supposed to die this way. You’re not even supposed to take a chance on that,” Kelly allegedly says in the audio clip. Afterward, he explained that, under any other circumstance, someone would’ve already tried to rush him to get checked by a doctor and at the very least, receive an X-Ray or some sort of test.

R Kelly Fears For His Life

Kelly explained that he needed to voice his concerns due to the apparent risks of his condition. “Because if it was your child, if it was your father, if it was your mother, somebody you loved, you would’ve said, ‘Go to the doctor. We need to get that checked out, we need to look at that. We need to X-ray that,” he explained. “They didn’t even X-ray. And that’s why I’m speaking out on this, because I’m scared for my life in that area. And who wouldn’t be. They treat animals better than that.”

R Kelly is currently behind bars after he was convicted of sex trafficking. His attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, previously called out the health care of the facility where Kelly was incarcerated. She explained to ABC7 that this was an issue that all of the individuals incarcerated at MCC face. “Every prison deserves medical attention, medical care. The MCC is required to address these things in a competent fashion,” Bonjean said.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.