R. Kelly’s former live-in girlfriend accuses him of getting her pregnant, having abortion performed at his house

Once, she called him “babe” instead of his preferred “Daddy” or “Master,” she said. His reaction: “He grabbed me and choked me until I blacked out.”

SHARE R. Kelly’s former live-in girlfriend accuses him of getting her pregnant, having abortion performed at his house
Joycelyn Savage (left) has accused R. Kelly of abuse.

Joycelyn Savage (left), shown walking out of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in July after a hearing in R. Kelly’s federal case, has accused Kelly of abuse. She and Azriel Clary (right) had lived with Kelly in his condo at the Trump International Hotel & Plaza and previously had defended the singer against accusations of sexual misconduct.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

After years of standing by R. Kelly, one of the embattled R&B singer’s girlfriends is now accusing him of sexual and psychological abuse — and an unwanted pregnancy.

Joycelyn Savage took to Instagram over the weekend to announce she was breaking her silence and to recount her experiences with Kelly on Patreon, an online platform that requires users to pay for content. She had posted three times by Sunday morning.

“I realized I was pregnant by this monster,” in late 2016, Savage wrote. “Eventually, I ended up getting an abortion I was forced to get the surgery done at his house.”

Another time, she said, after she called him “babe” instead of “Daddy” or “Master,” which he preferred, “He grabbed me and choked me until I blacked out.”

Kelly, 52, whose real name is Robert Kelly, is charged in federal court in Illinois with 13 counts around child pornography, enticing a minor into illegal sexual activity and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He also faces federal charges in New York and local cases in Minnesota and Cook County — all of which involve sex crimes against minors.

Savage also wrote of:

• Lots of other girls. “Robert would bring different girls home that stayed just like me, and they were definitely younger then me.”

• Constant monitoring. “I didn’t have any privacy at all,” she wrote. Kelly’s “assistant would have to be by the door while I shower.”

• Constant control. One TMZ interview she did, for instance, was heavily rehearsed: “His assistant would starve me for days at a time until I learned it right word for word.”

• Being used either for sex or as a “punching bag.”

• Sexual fetishes. “I’ve been peed on numerous of times I really didn’t want to say this but the truth needs to be heard.”

R. Kelly walks out of the Cook County Jail in February with his lawyer, Steve Greenberg.

R. Kelly walks out of Cook County Jail in February with his defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, after posting $100,000 bail. The R&B singer has entered a not guilty plea to all 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. In addition to those state charges, Kelly in July was indicted on federal charges as well.

Sun-Times file photo

She says they met in 2015, when she was 19, and he promised to make her “the next Aaliyah,” referring to Aaliyah Haughton, another young singer who had a relationship with Kelly. The two married in August 1994 when she was 15, according to the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” and other media reports. Aaliyah’s parents annulled it early the next year; the singer died in a plane crash in 2001 when she was 22.

Savage says she even recorded two songs with Kelly — songs “which never seen the day of light,” she added.

“Robert told me soo many lies my 19 year old mind believed everyone of one them,” she wrote. But, she noted later: “If anyone offered you millions of dollars and asked you to be with them you’d do it.”

In a series of tweets Saturday that have since been deleted, Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg called Savage’s motives into question.

“It’s unfortunate that Jocelyn now seeks to make money by exploiting her long time, loving relationship with Robert,” Greenberg tweeted. “Obviously if she were to tell the truth no one would pay so she has, unfortunately, chosen to regurgitate the stories and lies told by others for her own personal profit.”

“We know the real facts, and it was not until the money ran out that she decided anything was wrong. Hopefully people will see it for the Obvious profiteering it is.”

Greenberg didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

R. Kelly in court at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago after a 2019 hearing. A Bolingbrook man identified as a fan of the Chicago-born singer arrested Saturday for making threats against federal prosecutors in New York.

R. Kelly turns to leave after a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in September. His attorney Steve Greenberg is behind Kelly, to his right.

Pool photo/Chicago Tribune

Savage had remained a staunch defender of Kelly, who has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago since his arrest in July. Savage and Kelly’s other girlfriend, Azriel Clary, continued living at Kelly’s Trump International Hotel & Tower penthouse after he was taken into custody and were seen at court hearings earlier this year.

However, the Sun-Times Michael Sneed reported in late August that the lease was ending and they would soon be moving out.

On Sunday, Savage’s mother Jonjelyn told “Good Morning America” she believes her daughter is now coming forward because Kelly is locked up. Earlier this year, Jonjelyn and Timothy Savage claimed Kelly “brainwashed” their daughter into staying with him.

“Before I knew what was actually going to be revealed, I still thought it may have been a ploy to protect him and to come out with statements or false accusations to protect him,” the elder Savage said during the interview. “But once I was able to read the posts, I was able to realize that she’s ready to tell the truth, she’s finally coming to her senses and she’s ready to reveal her story in her own words.”

Read other Sun-Times coverage of R. Kelly.

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