R. Kelly's Ex-Wife Drea Kelly Threatens To Sue Lifetime Over "Surviving R. Kelly II"

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 202210.1K Views

R&B singer R. Kelly leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building following a hearing on June 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Prosecutors turned over to Kelly's defense team a DVD that alleges to show Kelly having sex with an underage girl in the 1990s. Kelly has been charged with multiple sex crimes involving four women, three of whom were underage at the time of the alleged encounters.

Drea Kelly is livid over Lifetime's decision to include her in the new trailer for "Surviving R. Kelly II."

If you haven't heard, Lifetime is producing a sequel to Surviving R. Kelly exploring the aftermath of the first docuseries. It's not too shocking considering the success of Surviving R. Kelly earlier this year and how it helped allegations from the 90s turn into actual charges against him. Some might be happy about this because it's putting a bigger spotlight on Kelly's crimes but one person isn't particularly happy about their inclusion in the trailer. Drea Kelly, the singer's ex-wife, previously stated that she's unhappy with Lifetime featuring her in the trailer but it appears that the network might face legal action over it.

Drea aired out her frustrations with Lifetime in an interview with TMZ recently. She explained that she made it clear to them that she, nor her children, gave Lifetime permission to get them involved in the docuseries. That request was ignored and they allegedly reached out to her family members and her children.

"I'm not happy with the aftercare and how the victims and survivors were handled throughout this entire process," she said. "They have a lawsuit coming their way because I told them, I vehemently -- I will not, will not be apart of, in any shape, form or fashion... I will not put my name on this documentary."

Check out the full interview with Drea Kelly below.

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.