After causing shockwaves when it first aired abroad in January, the six-part docuseries Surviving R. Kelly will be making its Australian premiere on Foxtel.
Foxtel announced the premiere in a statement this morning, detailing the damning evidence against Kelly presented in the docuseries.
The statement reads: “In the ground-breaking and controversial documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, women are emerging from the shadows and uniting their voices to share their stories. Celebrated as one of the greatest R&B singers of all time, R. Kelly’s genre-defining career and playboy lifestyle has been riddled with alleged rumours of abuse, predatory behaviour, and paedophilia. Despite damning evidence and multiple witnesses, to date, none of these accusations have seemingly affected him.
“For the first time ever, survivors and people from R. Kelly’s inner circle, are coming forward with new allegations about his sexual, mental, and physical abuse. They are now finally ready to share their full story and shed light on the secret life the public has never seen”.
The docuseries was a hit when it first aired in the US, managing audiences between 3.5 million and 4 million people on each episode, and led to massive repercussions to Kelly’s career, with record label RCA Records dropping the artist shortly after.
It also attained critical acclaim, with Variety’s Caroline Framke stating: “Surviving R. Kelly isn’t an easy watch; I dreaded pressing play. But once I started, it was impossible to look away–which is as it should be. It’s been too easy for too many to avert their eyes when the truth was staring back all along”.
Surviving R. Kelly premieres on Foxtel’s Crime + Investigation channel on Friday 22 February at 9.30pm AEDT.
