00:00You're watching Essence Now. I'm your host, Makon Jlovu, and everyone is buzzing about
00:07this latest R. Kelly scandal. As we mentioned earlier, the singer is, quote, unequivocally
00:12denying BuzzFeed's claims that he recruits young women to be a part of a cult. Now, here's
00:17a quick, quick recap. According to BuzzFeed, several people in Kelly's inner circle confirmed
00:22that the singer finds women with dreams of stardom, moves them into his homes in Chicago
00:27and Georgia, and then controls every aspect of their life. But here's the rub. For a
00:32lot of these women, it was their parents who asked R. Kelly to mentor their careers in the
00:36first place. A parent named Teresa said she regrets not taking his 2008 acquittal of child pornography
00:42more seriously. Quote, she says, my thing was, I trusted. I've never been in the music industry
00:48before, ever. And the fact is, he went to court. He was never found guilty. He was acquitted.
00:54And we were led to believe that there was no truth in it. Now, I got all these people
00:58asking about my daughter. My daughter is there telling me all of that, the charges against
01:03Kelly were true. Well, how come you didn't tell me that before? Hmm. Now, here to talk
01:08about it are two people who know the music industry very well as journalists. Please welcome via
01:13Skype, Chuck Creekmore, founder and CEO of All Hip Hop, and Shaniqua Golding, associate editor
01:19for Vibe Magazine. Welcome to Essence Now. Hello. Hi. Thanks for having me. I know. The pleasure
01:25is ours. Now, Chuck, let's start with you. As a parent of a young daughter, what do you
01:29think about the parent's statement to BuzzFeed about how they trusted R. Kelly? I mean, I think
01:34it's ridiculous. I mean, it's just completely laughable. It makes me smile that there could
01:42even be so stupid. And it's not even funny. A few years ago, I wrote a story for another
01:48publication about this as a parent. I used to have a fatherhood column. And, you know,
01:55I believe in protecting my daughter at all costs. And I think other parents prioritize other
02:03things above their child's well-being. And so I think that's where the disconnect is.
02:08A lot of parents, unfortunately, put money, potentially fame and career in front of their children in
02:17hopes that they can strike gold. And R. Kelly is a successful hitmaker with a lot of money.
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