John Legend has insisted that it was "an easy decision" to appear in the damning R. Kelly documentary Surviving R. Kelly.
The All of Me hitmaker is the biggest celebrity name to speak on camera as part of the six-hour Lifetime docuseries, which tackles allegations of paedophilia and non-consensual sex levelled against the I Believe I Can Fly singer, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
After producer Dream Hampton revealed in an interview that Lady Gaga, JAY-Z, Questlove, Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu had refused to appear on her show, social media users praised John for being the only A-lister to say yes, and he responded by insisting he didn't consider it a risky move.
"We should all thank my friend @dreamhampton for her very necessary work to create #SurvivingRKelly. These survivors deserved to be lifted up and heard. I hope it gets them closer to some kind of justice," he tweeted.
"To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn't feel risky at all. I believe these women and don't give a f**k about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision. Also I'm happy to support the work of people like my friends at (nonprofit organisation) @ALongWalkHome who have been speaking out on behalf of the survivors for a long time."
After Hampton's interview with the Detroit Free Press was published on Thursday (03Jan19), the same night the documentary kicked off, The Roots' Questlove posted a series of now-deleted tweets in which he claimed he was asked to talk about the singer's "genius".
"That (Hampton) quote makes it look like I'm protecting him. I'm thinking 'damn I don't wanna be the one guy I always am in documentaries fawning over someone I detest.' So make ZERO mistake on my positioning," he wrote.
Hampton denied she ever asked him to talk about R. Kelly's genius, and tweeted, "I told you I need Black male allies."
R. Kelly is threatened to sue Lifetime bosses over the documentary, which features testimony from his accusers and members of his inner circle who have come forward for the first time with new allegations that Kelly has sexually, mentally and physically abused women.
