Pop star Lady Gaga blasted R. Kelly in a statement following a number of sexual abuse allegations against the singer being publicized in a new Lifetime documentary.
“I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault,” Lady Gaga said, posting a lengthy statement railing against the R. Kelly.
Gaga previously worked with Kelly on the song “Do What U Want (With My Body),” released in 2013. The two also performed the song on Saturday Night Live.
In the song, R. Kelly sings to Gaga:
Do what I want, do what I want with your body
Do what I want, do what I want with your body,
Yeah, we taking these haters and we roughin’ ’em up,
And we layin’ the cut like we don’t give a fuck
“I have demonstrated my stance on this issue and others many times throughout my career,” the pop singer said in her statement.
“I stand by these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously,” she said.
The “Born This Way” singer also said she would remove the song from iTunes and other streaming platforms.
The new series Surviving R. Kelly airs a number of new sexual abuse allegations against the singer, but he has been publicly accused of misconduct for decades.
An article published by the New York Times this week reads, “For 20 years, black girls and women accused the R&B singer Robert Kelly of sexually assaulting minors. Yet he still enjoyed enormous success.”
In her statement, Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, called the allegations “horrifying and indefensible.”
However, Gaga had previously defended R. Kelly. Following the two collaborating in 2013, she gave a press conference where she attacked “untrue” things said about him.
“R. Kelly and I have sometimes very untrue things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us,” she said.