Most recently, almost anybody who has decided to speak out about anything related to R. Kelly has had to watch their tongue, and with good reason. Among those celebrities who have offered up their opinions on the allegations brought up against the disgraced singer in light of the Surviving R. Kelly series was French Montana.
The New York rapper found himself in hot water after offering a pretty nonchalant viewpoint on the subject, telling TMZ, "Whatever happened, happened," and stating that Kelly should be allowed to "enjoy" his legacy.
"[People] don't let nobody have their legendary moments," French told the outlet when prompted. “Let [R. Kelly] have his legacy. Let somebody enjoy their legacy,
Naturally, the remark was not taken well as it was perceived to be giving a pass to R. Kelly. Frenchy soon took to Twitter to clear the air and attempted to expound on what exactly he meant, even though his new statement seems to be in opposition to his earlier words.
"Let me be clear. My heart is with the victims," he tweeted out on Sunday (January 13th). "I never thought the people I looked up to as a kid, who sang and danced and gave me hope to become a superstar, would become drug addicts, child molestors[sic] and rapists. I am hoping we as a culture create better leaders. We need them."
https://twitter.com/_/status/1084543202021896192
In his TMZ interview, French also drew comparison from R. Kelly to Michael Jackson, referencing the late singer's child molestation allegations. "All the greats went down like that,” he said.
He's hardly the first person to make the comparison, with Boosie BadAzz even stirring the pot himself when he expressed that he hopes everyone "keeps that same energy" when the HBO-financed Leaving Neverland documentary premieres. The film is said to chronicle the allegations brought up against Jackson, but has been met with backlash with opposition bringing up the fact that Jackson's accusers testified under oath that their accusations were fabricated.
