Lady Gaga has vowed to remove her R. Kelly duet “Do What U Want’ from all streaming services following the allegations of sexual misconduct made against the R&B star.
Gaga, 32, collaborated with the “Ignition” singer on the track back in 2013, and it was included on her third studio album ‘Artpop’, but following the accusations of sexual assault made by a host of women against Kelly in new Lifetime documentary series ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ the pop superstar has made the decision to dissociate herself from the track and apologize for working with him.
Addressing her 77.6 million followers on Twitter, the singer wrote: “I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously.”
“What I am hearing about the allegations against R. Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible. As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life. My intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. The song is called Do What U Want (With My Body), I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time.
“If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I’d tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in – or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation – to seek help, and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we’ve been through.
“I can’t go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men, and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault. I have demonstrated my stance on this issue and others many times throughout my career. I share this not to make excuses for myself, but to explain. Til it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels. But I do know how I feel now. I intend to remove this song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms and will not be working with him again.
“I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner”.
The ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ series has prompted the #MuteRKelly campaign on social media in a bid to get the musician’s concerts axed and his music silenced on the airwaves and on streaming services.
Kelly, 52, has denied all the allegations made against him and has threatened legal action against his accusers and the makers of the series.
