R. Kelly’s Ex-Wife Drea Goes Viral In Resurfaced Video Showing Her Singing Along To One Of Kelly’s Songs
R. Kelly’s ex-wife, Drea Kelly, was prominently featured in the Lifetime docu-series Surviving R. Kelly. In the six-part series, Drea tearfully addressed some of the abuse she allegedly faced at the hands of her ex-husband, and recalled both the happy and the horrifying times she faced while she was married to him.
Recently, a Facebook video portraying the former dancer happily singing along and clapping to one of Kelly’s songs, “Happy People,” went viral after eagle-eyed viewers combed through her page. They found, and proliferated, the years-old post.
“Yes that is my baby daddy playing in the background, what ya’ll about? Come on baby daddy, other baby daddy,” Drea said in between signing and dancing to the radio while it played her ex’s hit song.
Several users were quick to add comments to the post, claiming that Drea contradicted herself by posting the video, which some felt showed her support for Kelly. They also said that Drea’s claims in the docu-series — that Kelly continually abused her — can now be taken less seriously after seeing her joyfully sing along to one of his songs.
Drea, who stars in VH1’s Hollywood Exes, took to her Instagram to post a statement following the viral video. She then said that some people are trying to expose her for being a scared and abused woman — and that the video in question is a prime example of how victims can react to years of abuse. She also claimed that Kelly and his legal team would threaten her if she gave off any hint that she felt negatively toward her ex-husband.
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She also shared a clip from an article by Psychology Today, one which highlighted some of the side effects of long term abuse.
“If you’re a victim of abuse, you feel ashamed. You’ve been humiliated and your self esteem and confidence have been undermined. You hide the abuse from people close to you, often to protect the reputation of the abuser and because of your own shame. An abuser uses tactics to isolate you from friends and loved ones by criticizing them and making remarks designed to force you to take sides,” the Instagram post stated.
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Drea also clapped back at her haters, telling them that after years of therapy and tears, what she knows today is that what she did or said should never be more important than why she did what she did — or said what she said.
R. Kelly employed Drea as a dancer for one of his tours, and shortly after their meeting, they fell in love. Kelly reportedly realized that Drea was a nurturing person, and had asked her to help him learn how to read. They were married in a casual wedding, which R. Kelly planned himself — without any idea from Drea, which she recalled was one of the first clues as to his controlling habits.
Drea and her children were reportedly subjected to years of abuse by R. Kelly, and her breaking point came when she considered jumping off of a hotel balcony at one point — to free herself from his grasp.
“I remember being ready to jump off the balcony of our hotel suite and commit suicide. Thank God I didn’t. After that I said, ‘I’m done.’ In 2004 I called my dad, packed my bags and left with our kids in the night,” Drea told People.
