Revelations that R. Kelly doesn't know how to read or write are the latest glimpses into the troubled personal life of the 52-year-old singer amid mounting legal troubles.
Ten years ago, R.Kelly once revealed to Chicago’s NBC 5 that he had an issue with reading, stating that he had only graduated elementary school because of his basketball skills.
“I don’t even read really and I’m not afraid to say that,” he told the news channel how his illiteracy affected his life.
“My cousins and brothers used to tease me, ‘You can’t even read right. How you think you’re going to come up?’ The only reason I graduated from grammar school is that I had a great jump shot.”
Also, late last year, Talk show host Wendy Williams echoed the same allegation that the singer still suffers from illiteracy
"Robert, it’s long been said and he actually did admit this to me, I was shocked he was actually admitting this — because he can’t read, he can’t write and he can’t add,” she said. “I won’t tell you about how he maneuvers through the world.”
These revelations comes after the R&B superstar was taken into custody Wednesday for failing to pay child support, just weeks after he was detained on sex abuse charges.
He was released from a Chicago jail on Saturday after a child support payment of more than $161,000 was made to his ex-wife.
Kelly, whose real name is Robert, told CBS journalist Gayle King in new parts of their interview that aired Thursday that he blamed his ex-wife for his money woes.
“How can I pay child support if my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can’t work?” Kelly told CBS journalist Gayle King.
Kelly’s ex-wife Andrea Kelly, who is at the center of the child custody case, also has previously accused him of domestic abuse.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office had said he would have to pay the full amount to be freed.
"I promise you, we're gonna straighten all this stuff out," Kelly told reporters and a smattering of fans who had gathered outside Cook County Jail. "That's all I can say right now."
Sam Randall, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said in a phone interview on Saturday that the source of the payment was unclear, noting that the name section of the bond slip was left blank.
"Anonymity in this situation is pretty rare," Randall said. "Typically that section of the form is filled out."
Celebrity website TMZ cited sources close to Kelly as saying an unidentified benefactor helped him.
Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, declined to comment when asked by email whether the child support payment was made by Kelly or someone else.
Last month, Kelly was arrested and pleaded not guilty to charges he had sexually assaulted three teenage girls and a fourth woman. He has denied similar abuse allegations for decades. In 2008, the singer was tried on child pornography charges and found not guilty.
Kelly bailed out of jail on the sexual assault charges on Feb. 25 and had since complained of financial difficulties, saying in an interview with CBS that "so many people" had access to his bank account and had stolen from him.
In the interview, he also tearfully and angrily rejected allegations that he had sex with underage girls.
-additional reports Reuters
