R. Kelly Might Go Bankrupt Due to Tax and Legal Issues

R. Kelly was unable to post $100,000 in bail following his arrest on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse last month.

R. Kelly
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Image via Getty/Nuccio DiNuzzo

R. Kelly

R. Kelly was unable to post $100,000 in bail following his arrest on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse last month, although "a friend" of his later posted the fee. Now his money problems have been detailed even further in a new report from AssociatedPress.

Atlanta-based entertainment lawyer James L. Walker said that Kelly's catalog should make him worth over $100 million, but all the allegations against him have severely impacted his legacy. "[He] had the talent and the ability to be just as legendary as some of those artists—if he would have handled his personal demons a lot better,” Walker told Associated Press.

Following his arrest in February, Kelly's attorney Steven Greenberg called the singer's finances "a mess." When Kelly spoke with Gayle King for CBS This Morning, he explained that people had stolen money from his bank accounts, but he didn't offer any specifics. He has since been arrested for owing over $161,633 in unpaid child support.

Kelly claimed that he was not able to pay the child support in time because he moved $350,000 from one bank account to another, and it did not clear in time for him to make the payment. 

Back in 2014, a court entered a civil judgment of around $1 million against the singer in a lawsuit filed by Kelly's former business manager Derrel McDavid. On top of that, six federal tax liens totaling $8 million have been filed against Kelly between 2009 and 2012. His $5 million Chicago mansion was also sold for $950,000 at a foreclosure auction in 2013. In 2018, he was evicted from two different Atlanta homes over unpaid rent.

Gayle King explained on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that R. Kelly tried to interrupt her from asking both of his girlfriends questions. "The girls were so angry, Stephen," she explained. During the conversation, King also previewed a clip from their interview in which he stressed he was a fan of women in general.

"Why do you continue, it seems, to see young women?" she asked Kelly.

"Why do I continue to see women?" he responded. "I know older women as well. I know 43-year-olds, they body's tight, they cool, I go out with them, I kick it with them. I love women." 

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