Court grants R. Kelly victim priority access to his music royalties
One of R. Kelly's victims will be first in line to recover funds from his royalties.
A woman who won a $4-million (R73-million) civil lawsuit against disgraced R&B star R. Kelly has been given priority access to his Sony Music royalties.
According to Billboard, a U.S. court ruled that Heather Williams will be given priority over a Chicago landlord. The 'Ignition' hitmaker owes the landlord $3.5-million (R64-million) for unpaid rent.
Heather was awarded the $4-million settlement in 2020 after accusing R. Kelly of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager.
Billboard reports that the singer's account with Sony was valued at $1.5-million (R27-million) in 2020. A previous court ruling stated that “any funds currently in Kelly’s royalty account" should be paid out to Heather.
The account will continue to pay her until her settlement is paid off. Sony owns R. Kelly's music catalog.
Heather was given priority ahead of the Chicago landlord because "she was the first to properly demand the money from Sony".
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R. Kelly denies making new music
Despite calls to ban R. Kelly's music, many people continue to listen to the 56-year-old's classics. Some of his hit songs include 'I Wish', 'Fiesta', 'Bump N' Grind', and 'I Believe I Can Fly'.
R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30-year sentence for sex abuse offences, has also written dozens of hit songs for several artists, including Aaliyah's 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number'.
The three-time Grammy winner recently denied that he is releasing new music after a bootleg album dropped in December.
The album - which is named 'I Admit It' - appeared on streaming platforms before it was removed. Speaking to TMZ, R. Kelly denied any involvement in the album.
"I wouldn't even put an album out right now while I am dealing with all of this stuff and I hope people recognised my voice and know that," he said via an audio provided by his lawyers.
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Main image credit: ANTONIO PEREZ / POOL / AFP