R. Kelly owes big-time money to his victims — and it’s time he pays up.
Of course, the disgraced R&B crooner is spending the next couple decades in prison on various sex crime charges. But even though he’s unable to physically get out and cut the check himself, restitution is still winding its way through court.
According to a Wednesday evening report from TMZ, the Chicago native-turned-prisoner is still making royalty money from his years-long catalog of musical hits. But the money isn’t going to him right now, and it’s certainly not going to wind up in his bank account in the future. Instead, it’s going to his victims!
Per that outlet, new court docs indicate that a judge has signed off on a plan to garnish R. Kelly’s music royalties from Universal Music Group and turn the cash over to victims in the form of restitution payments. Seems sensible to us. Doesn’t it?! That money should def go to somebody more deserving at this point.
The new court docs indicate Kelly’s UMG holdings total exactly $567,444.19. Not exactly chump change!! And the balance of Kelly’s restitution account actually sits just below that, at $506,950.26. When a judge saw those two numbers pop up, the choice was easy: use the royalty money to cover the rest of the restitution and call it a day. Debt settled!
In the years since the scandal first broke out in court, and Kelly’s biggest of multiple trials commenced back in 2022, both the RCA and Sony Music imprints swiftly dropped him from their roster. And with a long prison stay still hanging out there — not to mention the horror of his actions as outlined on the record in court — it’s not like future musical moves are on the table.
But at least now, victims are able to find some kind of financial footing through the whole ordeal. It doesn’t make things magically better — far from it — but it’s nice to see that restitution will at least be taken care of with this move by a wise judge. Ya know?!
What do U make of R. Kelly’s royalty rumble here, Perezcious readers??
Sound OFF with your thoughts down in the comments (below)…
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
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