On Wednesday, R. Kelly’s defense team continued with cross examination of the second witness present in the long-awaited trial of the disgraced R&B singer.
According to USA Today, Jane Doe #5, as she has been identified in court documents, began the second part of her testimony by reading letters she allegedly wrote to members of her family. In each, she defended Kelly and accused her parents of using her body to get money from him and destroy his career.
“You decided to join in to get some money,” according to one letter she read aloud and addressed to her father. “None of you gave interviews for free.” In another letter, she accused her mother of telling Kelly that since he was sleeping with her daughter, “you need to send $10,000 to this bank account every month.”
In a letter to her brother, she listed actions their parents allegedly put her up to in order to get money from Kelly, including telling her to lie about her age to him and to police.
“They were trying to set him up,” the letter says. “Brother, I’m telling you the truth, I cannot make this up.” In the same letter, she wrote, “My own parents were using me and my vagina to get money....They were going to destroy R. Kelly’s career.”
When the prosecutorial team took over, Jane revealed that the idea to pen those letters was not hers but at the behest of Kelly, to “protect him in a trial like this.”
On Tuesday, Jane also revealed that she and the other “girlfriends” living with Kelly at the time were allegedly warned against watching the 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly. Per Insider, Kelly allegedly told the girls beforehand that the documentary was coming out but that everything in it was a lie and that should it come on, they need to change the channel. He also told Jane that he had instructed his attorneys to send cease-and-desist letters to those involved.
As previously reported by The Root, Jane Doe #5 was one of two women present during Kelly’s interview with Gayle King back in March 2019. Jane explained how Kelly was able to covertly intimidate them during their time with King.
More from Insider:
Kelly asked both of them to speak with Gayle King for a CBS News interview that took place at a hotel room in Chicago’s Trump Tower, where Kelly also maintained an apartment. The accuser testified that Kelly rehearsed questions and answers with her and Joy.
King interviewed both women with Kelly sitting elsewhere in the hotel room, where they defended his conduct. She testified that Kelly gave a distinctive cough throughout the interview to remind them “he was in the room with us,” adding that the answers she gave King during the interview were not “truthful.” The woman testified that by October 2019, several months after Kelly’s arrest, she had left the singer’s home, never to return or speak with him again.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse, help is available at the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or National Sexual Violence Resource Center.