Last night, Erykah Badu got into a Twitter spat with dream hampton, the producer and activist behind Lifetime’s influential Surviving R. Kelly miniseries. Badu denied hampton’s accusations that she had refused to participate in the documentary. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press earlier this month, hampton named Badu as one of the celebrities who had denied the producer’s requests for an interview. (hampton’s comments elicited responses from Lady Gaga and Questlove, whom the producer claimed had also declined to participate.)
Badu came under fire again this weekend after telling the audience at a Chicago show that she was “puttin’ up a prayer for R. Kelly” (who she referred to as “R”) and wishing that “he sees the light of day and comes forward.” Subsequently, she explained the rationale behind her comments on Twitter. “I love you. Unconditionally,” she wrote. “That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices. I want healing for you and anyone you have hurt as a result of you being hurt. Is that strange to you ?”
Now, Badu has denied both being contacted about being interviewed in Surviving R. Kelly and, indeed, knowing Kelly at all. In response to a Twitter commenter, Badu wrote that she “never worked with [Kelly], don’t know him personally , and was never asked to be a part of the documentary.” hampton responded, clarifying that she had asked her producer Tina Harris to contact Badu about her relationship with Kelly because Badu had introduced Kelly at the 2015 Soul Train awards by calling him her “brother” and claiming that he “has done more for black people than anyone.”
Badu responded further denying anyone from the Surviving R. Kelly team contacting her: “No ma’am. I WAS NOT EVER contacted by anyone to be in documentary….You know that’s not true. I wasn’t a necessary component. You had all the right people, the ones close to the situation…But for now, produce this “producer’s” request or… APOLOGIZE. It’s simple.” hampton refused to post the text messages she said Harris had sent Badu, and excoriated Badu for asking for an apology. “Again, you PUBLICLY said he did more for black people than anyone? If you want to apologize for that, fine, apology accepted, on behalf of Harriet and the whole crew,” hampton tweeted at Badu. “What you meant by calling him your brother from the stage, I’ll never know..”
Read the full exchange below.
That’s not true. I’ve never worked with him, don’t know him personally , and was never asked to be a part of the documentary. https://t.co/nRajs33Hjy
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 22, 2019
I asked Producer T. Farris to contact @fatbellybella to be in doc because I wanted clarity on two things: 1) a quote attributed to her, “No one has done more for Black people than R. Kelly” & 2) what she was thinking when she called him her “brother” at Soul Train Awards. https://t.co/yYBvP8bBIj
— dream hampton (@dreamhampton) January 22, 2019
No ma’am. I WAS NOT EVER contacted by anyone to be in documentary.@dreamhampton You know that’s not true. I wasn’t a necessary component. You had all the right people, the ones close to the situation…But for now, produce this “producer’s” request or… APOLOGIZE. It’s simple. https://t.co/cgBcpPePMI
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 23, 2019
Apologize? Are you kidding? Again, you PUBLICLY said he did more for black people than anyone? If you want to apologize for that, fine, apology accepted, on behalf of Harriet and the whole crew. What you meant by calling him your brother from the stage, I’ll never know.. https://t.co/Zc2M0gaYdj
— dream hampton (@dreamhampton) January 23, 2019
And no, I’m not producing Tina Farris’s texts to you.
— dream hampton (@dreamhampton) January 23, 2019
