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After asking the media to “take it easy”, R Kelly gave a 28-second performance at a club in Springfield, Illinois, in the small hours of Sunday morning. He then spent about half an hour mixing with fans who paid $50 to $100 to see him.
In February, the R&B singer, 52, was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse pertaining to three girls and a woman. His attorney said at the time the singer’s finances were in disarray and Kelly spent a weekend in jail in Chicago before a benefactor posted his $100,000 bail.
Kelly returned to jail in March, over unpaid child support. Another benefactor paid to secure his release.
Kelly has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the sexual abuse charges.
On Saturday, hours before the performance at the Dirty South Lounge, Kelly posted a video on his Instagram page.
“I want the media to take it easy on me, man,” he said. “And this is how I got to get paid now, for right now. So I got to go do this event, and it’s a party, so when you see me in the club with a couple of drinks in my hand, and chilling, please, take it easy. Appreciate it, y’all. Thanks.”
TV stations WICS and WRSP reported that about 100 people were at the 450-person-capacity club to see Kelly, who arrived at 1.30am. A $100 entrance fee was lowered to $50 once the singer arrived.
Kelly thanked his supporters, sang a line from one of his songs for 28 seconds, then spent about 35 minutes taking selfies and conversing with fans.
The stations reported that some fans said the experience was not worth $100 and that they would not pay up again. Asked about the charges against Kelly, some fans said they separated the accusations from the “artist”.