'Surviving R. Kelly' Premiere Dominates Twitter, Makes Everyone Uncomfortable and Outraged

Television By TooFab Staff |
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The Lifetime docuseries interviews more than 50 subjects in relation to the decades of sexual misconduct and abuse allegations against the R&B singer.

It's safe to say that Lifetime's docuseries premiere "Surviving R. Kelly" took the world by storm Thursday night, dominating social media across multiple trending topics.

While the show itself quickly emerged as the top-trending topic on Twitter, it was followed immediately by late R&B singer "Aaliyah," Kelly's first name "Robert," his ex-wife "Andrea," and former protege "Sparkle." And while the series was not implicitly suggesting any sort of connection between the two, viewers got "Bill Cosby" trending as well, making their own association.

As part of its description for the series, Lifetime says, "For the first time ever, survivors and people from R. Kelly's inner circle, are coming forward with new allegations about his sexual, mental, and physical abuse. They are now finally ready to share their full story and shed light on the secret life the public has never seen."

Over 50 interviews were conducted for the project, which chronicles Kelly's life, career and the numerous sexual assault and abuse allegations he has faced. Kelly has denied all of the allegations brought forth about him and has never been convicted of any wrongdoing in relation to any of them. He was acquitted on multiple charges of making child pornography twice in the 2000s.

On Thursday morning, TMZ reported that R. Kelly's lawyer had threatened to file a lawsuit over the docuseries and demanded that Lifetime not air it, arguing it's full of lies and even alleging that it has videotaped evidence that Lifetime knows that some of the women aren't telling the truth.

"Lifetime has always been a brand that champions women's stories," the network told TMZ in response to the threat. On the show's description page, Lifetime says, "This program falls under Lifetime's commitment to provide a platform to give women a voice where they have previously been unheard to bring awareness to the abuses and harassment of women."

The first two installments aired Thursday night as scheduled. And while viewers were left reeling, series creator Dream Hampton teased the upcoming final two installments via Twitter. "Episodes 3 & 4 are about his trial and the systemic ways the criminal (in)justice system fails and re-traumatizes victims," she wrote. "Episodes 5 & 6 are about right now and are to me, the most important."

One of the more shocking allegations to emerge from the series is the claim from a former R. Kelly backup performer who said she saw the performer and Aaliyah engaged in sex when the young singer was only 15-years old. In a statement released prior to the premiere, Aaliyah's mother Diane Hauhgton vehemently **denied this claim.

Hampton was quick to point out via Twitter that Aaliyah was only a small part of the story she is telling with this series. While she was turned down by many A-list celebrities, the focus of the story was never intended to be on them anyway.

"Celebrated as one of the greatest R&B singers of all time, R. Kelly's genre defining career and playboy lifestyle has been riddled with rumors of abuse, predatory behavior, and pedophilia," Lifetime says of the singer. "Despite damning evidence and multiple witnesses, to date, none of these accusations have seemingly affected him."

They have, however, followed him throughout his career and become the focus of much conversation surrounding the artist. And now, with the first night of "Surviving R. Kelly" airing on Lifetime, that conversation has come to dominate social media. Below are some of the strongest reactions, including from some who participated in the docuseries, like John Legend.

As a reminder, R. Kelly has denied all of the allegations brought against him and has not been convicted of any wrongdoing at this time. Any presumption of guilt from the tweets attached below reflects that individual's opinion.

And we're only up to 1996. Strap in folks, the next two nights are going to blow up the internet all over again. "Surviving R. Kelly" continues Friday and Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.

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