R. Kelly is reportedly engaged to be married to one of his alleged victims, but the woman's family is raising questions.
Back on June 28, AllHipHop broke the news that one of R. Kelly's alleged victims, Joycelyn Savage, revealed in court documents prior to his sentencing that they are engaged to be married. The letter, reportedly sent to Judge Anne Donnelly, was delivered in the hopes the judge would consider it during sentencing.
"My name is Joycelyn Savage and I'm Robert Kelly's fiancé [sic]," the letter starts.
“My relationship with Robert is amazing. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. We have a very special connection and are deeply in love. I still support Robert to this day because I love him and will always be here to support him. Robert is not the monster that the government has described him to be. The Robert I know is very sweet, gentle, and kind. At the end of the day, he has always made sure that I’m taken care of, and any other women he was with as well.”
She continued, “Robert's an all-around incredible person. He loves his music and is very passionate about that. He's positive, outgoing and very generous. He always takes any opportunity he can to help those in need. He’s very determined and focused on his goals, and the things that have been said about him, with me and other women being held against our will is absolutely untrue, It’s the complete opposite of who he is and what my relationship is like with Robert.”
“Robert and I are deeply in love, and it breaks my heart that the government has created a narrative that I’m a victim,” she added. “I’m a grown woman and can speak for myself, which is why I wanted to provide this letter to the court. I respectfully ask that the Court take my words into consideration when sentencing Robert. He is a great man, with a great heart and deserves to be home with his loved ones who are ready to support him.”
On Monday (July 11), after the news began to catch on, TMZ spoke with a legal rep for the Savage family who said they had no knowledge of this forthcoming matrimony.
Gerald Griggs, an attorney for Savage's parents, tells the celebrity publication he has "strong doubts" the engagement story is accurate. According to Griggs, Joycelyn never told her parents about getting married to Kelly. He also admits they've only spoken to her once since she began staying with the disgraced R&B singer.
As previously reported, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 29, after being found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering charges last September.
Savage and Azriel Clary, who were both live-in girlfriends to the embattled singer prior to his arrest, were two of his biggest supporters following the release of the revealing Surviving R. Kelly docu-series in January of 2019. The two women had an all-out brawl that was captured on camera the following year. In 2021, Clary left Kelly and came clean about the singer's tactics during an interview with CBS Mornings' Gayle King.
XXL has reached out to Griggs for comment.