Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly faces a new legal battle as six of his victims sue him for failing to pay nearly $10 million in damages awarded in a 2022 judgment.
The lawsuit, filed on January 31, names Kelly (real name Robert Sylvester Kelly), his former record label Universal Music and its sublabel Universal Music-Z Tunes, revenue-sharing platform IndyBuild, and former manager Donnell Russell as defendants.
The plaintiffs—Lizette Martinez, Lisa Van Allen, Kelly Rodgers, Faith Rodgers, Roderick Gartell, and Gem Pratts—allege they have yet to receive more than $9.9 million of the $10.3 million judgment previously awarded to them.
The 2022 ruling ordered Kelly to pay over $5.1 million in compensatory damages and more than $4.5 million in punitive damages to the six plaintiffs, all of whom accused him of sexual abuse. The victims now seek enforcement of that judgment, arguing that Universal Music remains contractually obligated to collect and remit royalties from Kelly’s compositions despite the expiration of his co-publishing agreement in 2019.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, has denounced the judgment, claiming that it was entered unfairly while Kelly was incarcerated and without his knowledge.
In a statement Bonjean said, “This outrageous default judgment was entered contrary to court rules, legal precedent, and basic principles of fairness… It’s getting old. No court would have been that cavalier with the money of a white man.”
She further stated that Kelly has appealed the judgment.
Two of the plaintiffs, Martinez and Van Allen, were featured in the 2019 Surviving R. Kelly documentary, where they detailed their alleged abuse. Martinez claimed she met Kelly in 1995 as a 17-year-old high school senior and endured years of mistreatment, while Van Allen alleged she was groomed by Kelly at age 17 after meeting him at a music video shoot.
With Kelly serving a 30-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering, the outcome of this lawsuit will determine whether his victims can collect the damages they were awarded. Universal Music and the other defendants have yet to issue statements.
