The Surviving R. Kelly documentary premiere had to be evacuated after an unidentified male caller made two shooting threats. The documentary is a six-part Lifetime mini-series about some of the women who have accused Kelly of sexual assault over the last 20 years. The anonymous threats were made to the NeueHouse Madison Square venue in New York City, according to the venue itself. In the aftermath, Kelly’s ex-wife Drea Kelly believes that he had something to do with the threats.
The anonymous male caller threatened that a gun would be fired within the theater if the Surviving R. Kelly documentary screened, leading to the evacuation of the theater 15 minutes into the event. The threats were “non-credible,” according to a spokesperson from the venue. However, Lifetime said the building was evacuated, “as a precaution.” The event included some of the women from the documentary series, including Kitti Jones, who last year accused R. Kelly of trying to control her life, amongst other accusations. This comes after accusations that Kelly runs a sex cult that imprisons women.
While the venue believes that the shooting threats weren’t credible, R. Kelly’s ex-wife Drea Kelly believes that the pop star was involved in the threats. Drea and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke were in attendance for the Surviving R. Kelly documentary at the time of the threats. The venue states that the anonymous calls were made from Chicago, which is where Kelly currently lives. Drea had this to say about the situation.
“The first thing that came to my mind – and I can’t speak for anyone else – was that (R. Kelly) had this shut down. I believe it was somebody connected to him. This was an outside inside-job to me; someone on the outside does not want what’s going on on the inside to be completed. Whoever it came from, they know that this is not a good thing because there’s power in numbers.”
Drea Kelly went on to say that she does not, “believe in happenstance, I don’t believe that anything is a coincidence.” While she can’t say for certain if R. Kelly acted alone or not, she says, “I do believe that in some shape, form or fashion it is connected to him.” Drea has claimed in recent months that Kelly beat and bound her, as well as other accusations, during the course of their 10-year marriage. The two have been divorced since 2006.
As of this writing, R. Kelly has yet to comment on the anonymous caller shutting down the Surviving R. Kelly documentary premiere. Lifetime will premiere the special three-night-event, beginning Thursday, January 3rd at 9pm. Two additional hours will premiere on Friday, January 4th, at 9pm, and the final installment of the six-part documentary series will debut on Saturday, January 5th, at 9pm. This news was first reported by Variety and you can check out the trailer for Surviving R. Kelly below.