Sparkle has received her share of criticism following the finale of Surviving R. Kelly. In the documentary series, the singer recalled how her 14-year-old niece was sexually abused by Kelly. The situation culminated to a criminal trial in which Sparkle served as a witness. DEspite her good seemingly good intentions and professed regret for having introduced her family to the R&B icon, Sparkle is being dragged for the decision, especially considering Kelly's relationship with Aaliyah.
"Look, Aaliyah's uncle Barry Hankerson was Robert's manager [...] So, you know, that's not a question that everybody should be asking me," she said. "I didn't see anything with the Aaliyah thing. Even on the Age Ain't Nothing But A Number CD—I didn't sing on Age Ain't Nothing But A Number [...] I had no interaction at all."
Sparkle futher explained why she didn't question to platonic nature of his relationship with the starlet. She couldn't imagine him crossing the line given his manager's familial ties.
"Who thought that was real? You know what I mean I thought that was a hoax that that's not real, you know? That was my naiveté of thinking that it wasn't real because like again, Barry Hankerson was there," Sparkle said. "This shouldn't and couldn't have happened. I'm thinking, 'Now this is a hoax. [Aaliyah is] only 15. Oh, this is nothing. He can't marry a young girl.' So, you know, didn't think anything of it. [...] Well, after I saw the marriage certificate and I was like, OK, maybe there's something to it. But again, I'm thinking the uncle was there, the parents are there. This can't be."
Later she claims the unedited version of her Lifetime interview may shed light on the situation.
"I sat there for four and a half, five hours speaking the truth, and you may see 10, 15 minutes of me in the documentary, and there were things left out," she said. "There was things spliced up, and you know, I've wished that Lifetime would release the unedited versions of everything that I stated."
[via]
