The National Enquirer offered R. Kelly $1 million to participate in a documentary.
The Daily Beast reports, (quote) “A top executive in the National Enquirer tabloid empire proposed an elaborate scheme to secretly funnel more than $1 million to accused rapist and pedophile R. Kelly.”
One proposal had R. Kelly receiving payments hidden through “secret music licensing agreements” and a shell company. The tabloids wished to make an appearance of keeping its distance from R. Kelly, who sits in jail awaiting justice. He’s accused of sexually abusing girls as young as 13 years old.
Even though R. Kelly would be involved in making the documentary, the National Enquirer planned to market it as “independent” of his influence. A tabloid exec admitted during negotiations, (quote) “No network is going to buy or pay Mr. Kelly. They simply won’t do that. They are not going to take the public relations hit associated with doing business with him.” (The Daily Beast)
Hot Takes:
- R. Kelly is desperate for money to pay his mounting legal bills.
- National Enquirer teams with R. Kelly: A sketchy partnership from hell.
- The documentary to watch is the six-part Lifetime series, Surviving R. Kelly, that focused on his victims and their stories.