“Don’t bring up some old pics of me and somebody else.”
John Legend has justified an old photo of himself and Harvey Weinstein following his appearance in the Surviving R Kelly documentary.
The singer lent his voice to the Lifetime docu-series detailing the many sexual abuse allegations made against R Kelly since the late 1990s.
Legend was praised for appearing in the series following reports that many other musicians including Lady Gaga and Jay Z had turned it down.
However, the All Of Me singer was forced to defend his appearance in the documentary when an old photo of he, wife Chrissy Teigen, and disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was unearthed.
A Twitter used named Anika Tellis tweeted Legend the photo saying: “Please explain?? I don’t remember you publicly denouncing this man.”
@johnlegend please explain?? I dont remember you publicly denouncing this man!!! @cthagod pic.twitter.com/mbIAj9Y2ee
— Anika Tellis (@DesAnika123) January 8, 2019
Legend then responded, stating that the photo with Weinstein was taken a long time ago “before his abuse was known to me and the rest of the world.”
“I took a photo with and worked with Harvey on several occasions,” he said.
“Since his being exposed, his company and career have rightfully been destroyed and he’s been indicted. Sounds like something that should happen to R Kelly.”
I took a photo with and worked with Harvey on several occasions before his abuse was known to me and the rest of the world. Since his being exposed, his company and career have rightfully been destroyed and he's been indicted. Sounds like something that should happen to R Kelly https://t.co/LgIOQpEnsP
— John Legend (@johnlegend) January 8, 2019
Legend went on to say that an excuse to discount the women accusing R Kelly of abuse shouldn’t be veiled by old photos of him and another person.
“If y’all wanna cape for R and discount all these women’s stories, just say it,” he said. “Don’t bring up some old pics of me and somebody else.”
Since its initial airing in the States, Surviving R Kelly has received acclaim for its focus on the otherwise buried voices of survivors.
The US’s National Sexual Assault Hotline experienced a 27 percent increase in calls during the docu-series’s broadcast over three nights.
Surviving R Kelly is Lifetime’s highest rated programme in over two years.
