“Surviving R. Kelly”: Rhetorical Situation

Sylvia Rust

Com 401

“Surviving R. Kelly”: Rhetorical Situation

A rhetorical situation needs to be understood by the public, and one of the most influential moments in popular culture is the relationship between Robert Kelly (known as R. Kelly) and teenage girls. The docuseries Surviving R. Kelly (2019), directed by Dream Hampton and released by Lifetime, interviews people in R. Kelly’s life and women who have been hurt and abused by Kelly on a level we have not seen before. The docuseries is comprised of six hour-long episodes which came out all within one week in January of 2019. Surviving R. Kelly (2019) addresses exigence of sexual assault in (black) women’s lives, how we can combat and expose abuse, discusses the impact hypersexualization and exploitation can have on young women of color, and what we, as an audience, can do to respond to the abuse dozens of women have faced. 

Bitzer describes the “rhetorical situation” as: “a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence… There are three constituents of any rhetorical situation: the first is the exigence, the second and third are elements of the complex, namely the audience to be constrained in decision and action, and the constraints which influence the rhetor and can be brought to bear upon the audience” (Bitzer, 1968, p. 6).

The exigence of this artifact, Surviving R. Kelly (2019) is the recent exposure of sexual assault in Hollywood that has empowered women and others to speak out about the sexual abuse and assault they have dealt with. Because of the #MeToo movement, the #MuteRKelly trend, and the strength of his victims — Surviving R. Kelly (2019) was created in response to address the rumors, lawsuits, and cases that have been brought against R. Kelly in (relatively) recent years. The audience of this artifact is survivors of sexual assault, anyone impacted by the #MeToo movement, or interested in (combatting) the hypersexualization of black women. The constraints of Surviving R. Kelly (2019) are that, as a society, we are not used to calling out men. Not only this, but some of the interviewees that support R. Kelly are afraid of addressing the problems with R. Kelly because admitting he’s a rapist and abuser reinforces the stereotype of black men that they’re predatory. Black women are often not believed, even in large numbers, so the artifact, Surviving R. Kelly (2019), addresses the hypersexualization of young women of color that often gets ignored in our culture. 

The documentary starts out at the beginning of R. Kelly’s career when he would spend time preying on young black women in the 1990s; he’d hang-out outside Kenwood High School (KHS) in Chicago and spend his evenings at the McDonald’s at Hyde Park with students from KHS. In the documentary, women and (the) bodyguard, stated that when he liked a woman, one of his bodyguards, Demetrius Smith, would give the girls his number and tell them that “Robert wants to talk to you” (Hampton, 2019). 

Many of the women in the documentary discuss meeting Kelly in similar situations. Lizzette Martinez met Kelly when he was at a mall, and he convinced her to move to Chicago to pursue her singing career, but she states that she sees now that she was merely used as a sex object over the years. She finally escaped his reign when she contracted mononucleosis that turned into Guillain-Barre, a rare disorder that caused her to become paralysed; as compensation, he sent her mother one thousand dollars in the mail (Hampton, 2019). 

Not only did he spend time with young black women and girls in Chicago, but he also ran into legal problems with women as well. Kelly married the singer, Aaliyah, in 1994 when she was 15 years old and he was 27; their marriage was annulled not a year later, in 1995. In 1996, he was sued by Tiffany Hawkins, a woman he raped numerous times in 1991 when she was 15 years old; she accepted a payment of $250,000 in damages. In 2001, he was sued by a seventeen year old intern, Tracy Sampson, for the same reason but the charges were dropped. (Hampton, 2019). In 2002, three women took R. Kelly to court. One woman allegedly was forced to have an abortion when she was impregnated as a teen by Kelly. The other two were both underage and videotapes were made of them having sex with Kelly. Between the year 2002-2004, another 12 counts of child pornography were found, along with his camera and tripod, but the case was thrown out because of lack of evidence so a search warrant in Miami was never served (Hampton, 2019). 

The infamous “pee” tape of R. Kelly and a young girl got him indicted and sent to trial. Lisa Van Allen was interviewed for Surviving R. Kelly (2019); she was an underage black woman R. Kelly raped -- she was forced to have sex with the 14-year-old seen in the pee tape when she was 17 multiple times. She stole the sex tape, which Kelly made without her consent, and gave it to a friend, who made copies and sold. The trial came to a “not guilty verdict” because, despite having fourteen witnesses on the defense; some that were the 14-year olds friends and family, the child and her mother denied that the video showed the girl (Hampton, 2019).

In 2017, Buzzfeed accused R. Kelly of trapping six girls in a sex cult. Chicago Sun times journalist, Joe DeGrogatis, has been following R. Kelly’s allegations for the last twenty years. In 2018, some women and former staff/friends of R. Kelly broke non-disclosure agreements (NDA) to discuss the manipulation and assault they dealt with (Hampton, 2019).

The Surviving R. Kelly (2019) documentary features survivors Lizzette Martinez, Andrea Kelly; his ex-wife, his brothers, Tarana Burke; founder of the #MeToo movement, fellow celebrities, psychologists and other professionals, and former dancers, security, and teachers that were interviewed about their experience in Kelly’s life. 

In the cultural moment that we are in -- with Me Too, formally recognizing toxic masculinity, and becoming more aware of the sexual assault that happens to women all around the world -- the R. Kelly situation is important and it brings to light how easy it is for men to get away with sexual assault and manipulation. R. Kelly’s situation is not unique; there have been numerous accusations made about high profile celebrities and millions of everyday survivors opening up about their trauma and sexual assault. 

 As a cultural shift, this situation is new and it challenges many peoples’ views on sexual assault and the way we look at women. This moment of recognition of young women’s sexual assault has made many people opposed to being in the conversation. Because of our beliefs and attitudes, it is easy to be skeptical about conversations that may call you out or challenge the way society has groomed you to think about teen-adult relationships.  

The docuseries gets real and interviews women who have given up careers to pursue justice against Robert Kelly. His wife describes leaving in the night with their three children, out of fear of what he may do to his daughters when they grow older. Lisa Van Allen describes her abortion and her reasoning for it being afraid of having a daughter by R. Kelly. Music journalists, psychiatrists, and activists describe the way R. Kelly has gotten away with what he’s done because of the cycle of abuse that is often looked over for young girls, and especially young, poor, black girls. The artifact works to challenge the way R. Kelly is looked at in society, how black women are ignored, and how we can change the course by listening to, helping to heal, and answering the call-light of black women. 

References

Bitzer, L. (1968). The Rhetorical Situation. Philosophy and Rhetoric 1, 1-8.  

Hampton, D (Producer & Director). (2019).  “Surviving R. Kelly” [docuseries]. United States: 

Lifetime.

Savage, M. (23 May 2018). The history of allegations against R. Kelly. Retrieved from 

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40635526.