R. Kelly Confirms He Knew Aaliyah’s Real Age in Newly Resurfaced Video
Contrary to previous claims, R. Kelly did indeed know Aaliyah was underage at the time of their marriage in 1994. The embattled singer confirms this during his commentary in a newly resurfaced documentary from that same year.
"Right now I'm producing a very talented lady — a young lady," R. Kelly narrates in the doc, unearthed by TMZ on Monday (Jan. 14). "She's 14, Aaliyah."
This directly contradicts claims Kelly's lawyer Steven Greenberg made on ABC's Good Morning America just this past Friday (Jan. 11).
“My understanding is that she did not claim to be 15 and, in order to get married, she had to lie about her age," Greenberg told the GMA cast. "[He had] no idea.”
Upon being made aware of the resurfaced documentary, he retracted his statement.
"That was 20 years ago. I didn't know him 20 years ago, I didn't represent him 20 years ago," Greenberg told TMZ. "And, I wasn't invited to any wedding."
R. Kelly's marriage to Aaliyah was referenced throughout Surviving R. Kelly, with his former tour manager Demetrius Smith even revealing he'd helped Kelly forge documents in order to make the illegal union happen. He also said that the then-15-year old Aaliyah was pregnant at the time, which was the main reason for the rush to wed.
Elsewhere in the documentary, a former background singer of Kelly's alleges that she personally saw a then-27-year-old Kelly engage in sex with Aaliyah. Aaliyah's mother, Diane Haughton, later refuted the claims.
Watch the resurfaced documentary below.
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