R. Kelly asked the media to “take it easy” on him as he attempts to earn money amid sexual assault charges.
The embattled singer, 52, made a paid guest appearance at the Dirty South Lounge in Springfield, Ill., early Sunday morning, where fans paid $50 to $100 to attend.
Kelly arrived at the nightclub around 1:30 a.m. local time and stayed for about a half-hour, where he took pictures with fans, smoked a cigar and briefly performed his hit song “Bump N’ Grind” for 28 seconds.
Nearly 100 people attended the private party, and Kelly thanked the crowd for its support after the singer’s indictment on 10 sex abuse charges.
Ahead of his paid appearance, Kelly took to Instagram to ask the media to leave him alone.
“Yo, this is your boy Kells and I got an event to do tonight in Springfield, Illinois, so I want the media to take it easy on me, man,” he said in the video Saturday, his first Instagram post since singing happy birthday to his estranged daughter on March 20.
R. Kelly looks at Polk County Judge Karla Wright during his court appearance on June 6, 2002, in Bartow, Fla. Kelly was arrested in Davenport, Fla., and charged with 21 counts of child pornography.
“This is how I got to get paid now for right now,” he added. “So I gotta go do this event and it’s a party, so if you see me in the club, with a couple of drinks in my hand, and chilling, please, take it easy.”
It’s not clear how much he was paid for the appearance.
Kelly has struggled to pay child support, legal fees and other bills, blaming the cancellation of concerts, his axed record-company contract and streaming services removing his songs following his February arrest on sex-abuse charges.
The charges culminate nearly two decades of allegations, including one failed criminal trial, a #MuteRKelly campaign and the airing of a Kelly-damning documentary series, “Surviving R. Kelly.”
The singer recently asked an Illinois judge to allow him to travel to Dubai to perform several concerts that he agreed to do prior to his arrest. His request was denied.
As a condition of bond, Kelly must stay in Illinois unless a judge approves out-of-state travel.
