R. Kelly Breaks Social Media Silence To Wish Daughter a Happy Birthday
R. Kelly has returned to social media after a lengthy silence.
On Tuesday, he sent his first tweet since Jan. 1, wishing daughter Joann Kelly a happy 21st birthday. Kelly sang his daughter happy birthday, before expressing his love for her. In the post, he assured her that he loves her "not matter what." He captioned the post, "family for life."
"Happy birthday, baby. Daddy love you. I love you, no matter what. I love you so much. Bye. Happy birthday," R. Kelly said, blowing a kiss to the camera.
In a recent interview with Gayle King, Kelly discussed his three children in depth. He revealed that he has "zero' relationship with them, but claimed he was interested in developing one. Kelly said he "missed a lot" of his kids' lives, and loves them very much.
"I'm really not fighting for my career here. I'm fighting for my rights and I'm fighting to have a relationship with my kids, most of all, more than anything," he told King. "I want a relationship with my kids because I have missed a lot of years of their life. They love me. I love them."
Kelly's return to social media was a surprise to many. It comes amid multiple allegations of sexual abuse, and other such crimes, with young women and girls, ET Online reported. The 52-year-old has been accused of similar crimes in the past, but allegations and anger toward Kelly resurfaced after Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly docuseries premiered. Kelly has denied the allegations against him, but did turn himself in on Feb. 22 after being charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal and sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois.
Kelly was released three days later. A little over a week after his initial release, Kelly was detained a second time, the outlet reported. His second arrest was caused by his apparent failure to pay $161,663 in child support. After an anonymous person paid his bail, he was released on March 9.