Even as he climbed the Billboard charts and won Grammys for his R&B music, R. Kelly has been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse.
During the #MeToo era, the singer's reputation become even more tarnished, especially following the broadcast of "Surviving R. Kelly," a 2019 documentary series that featured interviews with several of his victims.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has denied any wrongdoing numerous times.
In a New York court, Kelly was convicted guilty of eight charges of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering earlier this year, after decades of rumors and allegations. Kelly is also on trial in Chicago on allegations of child sex pictures and obstruction. He'll also be charged with sex abuse in Illinois and Minnesota.
The stories dated back to his early career in the 1990s, with many of them focusing on his predatory pursuit of underage girls.
Kelly was a child sex abuse victim himself, detailing how he was assaulted by a female family member when he was eight years old in his autobiography.
To fully grasp the situation, it will only be right to go back to the beginning and see how and where it all started.
Here is a detailed timeline of the Key events that led to R-Kelly’s Law suit:
1994: R-Kelly's Marriage to Aaliyah
The artist, who was 27 at the time, married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah in a private ceremony in Chicago.
Aaliyah had lied about her age on the wedding certificate, listing herself as 18 years old, according to Vibe magazine.
In February 1995, the marriage was declared null and void.
At Kelly's trial, a former tour manager testified that in 1994, he bribed a government employee to obtain a phony ID for Aaliyah so the singers could marry.
Aaliyah avoided concerns regarding the nature of her relationship for the rest of her career.
"When people ask me, I tell them, 'Hey, don't believe all that mess,'" she told one interviewer.
"We're close and people took it the wrong way."
After Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001, Kelly rarely spoke about her.
In his book, she is not included, with an author's note explaining that "some occurrences could not be included for complicated reasons."
He described their relationship in a 2016 interview with GQ magazine as "Best, best, best, best friends,". But he refused to comment on their relationship, saying, "I will never have that discussion with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who have asked me not to personally."
1996: Lawsuit for emotional damage
R. Kelly was sued by Tiffany Hawkins for the "personal injuries and emotional suffering" she sustained over a three-year affair with the artist.
She claimed in court records that she started having sex with Kelly when she was 15 and he was 24, and that the relationship discontinued when she was 18.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Ms Hawkins sought $10 million in damages but settled for a quarter of that ($250,000) in 1998.
Kelly's spokeswoman stated that she was "unaware" of the allegations.
2001: Sued by Tracy (intern)
Tracy Sampson filed a lawsuit against R. Kelly, alleging that he induced her "into an improper sexual affair" when she was 17 years old.
She was "treated as his own sex object and cast aside," according to the lady, a former Epic Records intern.
"He tried to regulate every part of my life," she recalled, "including who I saw and where I went."
According to the New York Post, the matter was resolved out of court for an unknown price.
2002: Two more court cases
Patrice Jones, a Chicago woman, claims Kelly impregnated her when she was under the age of consent and forced her to get an abortion.
Montina Woods also filed a lawsuit against Kelly, saying that he secretly videotaped them having sex.
The recording was supposedly distributed under the name R. Kelly Triple-X on a "sex cassette" sold by bootleggers.
Both cases were settled out of court, with the star paying secret sums in exchange for non-disclosure agreements.
June 2002: Charged to court over child abuse videos
The artist has been accused with 21 counts of child sexual abuse films containing a variety of sexual actions.
He is accused of taping the actions and encouraging a kid to partake in them, according to Chicago police.
All of the charges stemmed from the birth of a single daughter in September 1984.
His arrest arose from a video submitted to the Chicago Sun Times anonymously earlier this year.
They handed it over to the cops, who used FBI forensic experts to confirm its validity.
Kelly, who was released on $750,000 bail, initially refuted the allegations in an MTV interview and eventually pled not guilty in court.
After taking 6 years for the case to come to trial, Kelly's enormously successful Trapped In The Closet album was released at this time, and he was nominated for an Image Award by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), prompting much criticism.
Kelly was found not guilty on all counts because the jury decided they couldn't confirm the girl on the tape was a minor.
2002-2004: Following the arrest, more charges are filed
Kelly was charged with a total of 12 charges of child sexual abuse image production in Florida, when he was apprehended at his vacation home.
During the arrest, police allegedly recovered a camera that supposedly had photographs of the singer having sex with an underage female.
When a court agreed with Kelly's defense team that police lacked sufficient evidence to authorize a search, the charges were withdrawn.
2017: Claims of a Cult-like Activities
R. Kelly was accused of trapping six women in a sex "cult" in a lengthy Buzzfeed story.
Kelly allegedly lured young women when they came to him for help with their music careers, then took control of their life, controlling "what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, and how they engage in sexual interactions that he tapes," according to the story.
According to the claim, the singer also took the women's cellphones, preventing them from communicating with friends and relatives.
Three former employees and the parents of many women made the charges, alleging that their daughters had all but vanished.
2017-2018: Victims begin to contact the media.
Further allegations have been made as a result of Buzzfeed's investigation.
Jerhonda Pace broke a non-disclosure agreement by revealing that she had intercourse with Kelly when she was under the age of 18.
Kitti Jones, another lady, said that the celebrity star starved her, forced her into sexual encounters with other women, and physically abused her.
In the 2021 trial, Ms Pace would testify against Kelly.
In March 2018, Ms Kitti, along with other members of R. Kelly's inner circle, appeared in a BBC Three documentary.
Kelly requested one former friend and collaborator, Lovell Jones, to seek out ladies "who appeared young" at parties, and it was "wide knowledge" that the singer favored young girls, according to Jones.
2018: #MuteRKelly, departures of staff and fresh court cases
The #MuteRKelly campaign pushed the singer's record label, RCA, to cut relations with him.
Concert promoters, ticket sellers, and streaming services were also targeted, with Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora all agreeing to remove Kelly's tracks from their playlists (a decision that was later reversed).
The star's lawyer, publicist, and personal assistant all left around the same time, though attorney Linda Mensch insisted her departure had nothing to do with any allegations about Mr Kelly's social life.
Despite demonstrations outside his gigs, Kelly proceeded to perform live and was caught on camera claiming that the anti-Kelly campaign was "too late."
On the song I Admit, he sang confidently, "Only God can mute me." "Are you expecting me to go to jail or lose my job as a result of your opinion?"
Meanwhile, a previous lover has sued the singer, alleging that he "deliberately" afflicted her with a sexually transmitted disease.
2019: Fresh charges based on new data
Surviving R. Kelly, a Lifetime documentary, took a comprehensive look at the allegations against the musician over the course of six hour-long episodes.
Kelly was dropped by his record business two weeks after the program aired. Concerts in the United States and New Zealand had to be canceled.
Michael Avenatti, a celebrity lawyer, claimed in February that he had gotten a video of Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
The singer was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Chicago a few weeks later.
He entered a not guilty plea and made a hysterical television interview. Prosecutors later brought an additional 11 sexual assault and abuse allegations against a kid aged 13 to 16.
Intercourse and oral sex with a minor "by the use of force or threat of force," as according to charging documents.
One of the women featured in Surviving R. Kelly was considered to be the complainant, who claimed she met the singer during a prior trial.
July 2019: Charges of sex trafficking
Kelly was also the subject of two different federal indictments, one in Illinois and the other in Brooklyn.
The allegations together depicted a concerted effort on the part of the celebrity and his associates to recruit and transport underage girls across state lines for illegal sexual purposes, including the production of child sex abuse images, as well as a plot to obstruct justice by destroying evidence and bribing or threatening witnesses.
August 2019: Bail was refused
The actor appeared in court in New York and pled not guilty, but was denied bail because he posed a flight risk.
Prosecutors in Minnesota filed prostitution charges against the celebrity a few days later, putting him in the middle of three criminal cases in the United States.
A federal judge in Brooklyn refused the star's bail application.
The possibility of witness tampering had Magistrate Judge Steven L Tiscione "very disturbed."
March 2020: Delayed Trial
Kelly's Chicago trial was postponed for six months after prosecutors confiscated more than 100 electronic devices from a storage facility containing the star's tour equipment, including iPhones, iPads, and hard drives.
Prosecutors also revised the charges against the star, claiming that "yet another victim" had been added to the list of allegations.
The new victim, labeled "Minor Six," encountered Kelly when she was 14 or 15 years old in the late 1990s.
Kelly still pled not guilty to all of the counts leveled against her.
August 2020: Witness manipulation
In August, three of Kelly's accomplices were accused in the racketeering case with seeking to intimidate, harass, or pay off claimed victims.
Prosecutors claim that one victim was given $500,000 (£376,300) in exchange for her silence, but no money was exchanged.
Another was threatened with the publication of sexually graphic images, while a third awoke to find her car on fire in her driveway.
The allegations, which were filed in New York, did not say if Kelly approved of the activities, and Kelly's lawyer denied any involvement.
August-September 2020: Kelly’s assault in Prison
Kelly was assaulted in his sleep by a fellow inmate in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Centre near the end of August.
The star's lawyer demanded that he be released immediately, claiming that "the government cannot secure his safety."
However, the request was denied, as were numerous other attempts to have Kelly released on bail.
June 2021: Replacement of Kelly’s legal team
Kelly's long-time counsel asked to withdraw from the case two months before his trial was set to begin.
Working with a pair of new lawyers recruited by the star was "difficult," according to Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard.
August 2021: Confirmation of the Kelly – Aaliyah Relationship
US District Judge Ann M Donnelly made a series of judgments in the last pre-trial hearing before Kelly's trial to limit what evidence might be revealed to jurors.
She asked one of the singer's lawyers if they disputed the celebrity had sexual encounters with Aaliyah while she was underage during the hearing.
Thomas A Farinella "gave out a long sigh and said, 'No,'" according to the Associated Press.
August-September 2021: R. Kelly's Trial and final verdict
The trial commenced on the 18th of August in New York. The jury convicted the US celebrity guilty on all nine counts on September 27th, after two days of deliberation.
The 54-year-old's sentencing is set for May 4th, and he might face decades in prison.
"I've been practicing law for 47 years," Gloria Allred, a lawyer who represented multiple victims, told reporters.
“I've chased a number of sexual predators who have committed crimes against women and children over this time”.
"Mr. Kelly is the worst of all the predators I've pursued."
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