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TURNER’S TWO CENTS: Manning Up: Will R. Kelly follow T.I.'s example?
*Taking responsibility for your mistakes is a sign of maturity and integrity. Rap superstar T.I. demonstrated those qualities last week in an exclusive interview with BET News. Referring to his conviction on federal weapons charges (he was busted trying to buy machine guns and silencers), Tip said, “I must be a man and stand up and accept responsibility. I exercised extremely poor judgment, and for that, I must be willing to pay whatever price that comes before me.”
This is the message T.I. has been sharing with high school students around Atlanta for the past several weeks as part of his community service obligation. It’s also the message he shared on Easter Sunday (days before closing the plea deal), when he addressed a massive worship service led by Bishop Eddie Long.) It’s inspiring to see T.I. own up to his errors, especially since so many celebrities play the victim and blame others for the messes they create. Lindsay Lohan and Amy Winehouse insist that they aren’t addicts. Remy Ma says racism is the reason she was convicted for shooting her friend twice in the stomach.
We’re likely to hear a lot of far-fetched excuses now that R. Kelly’s child pornography trial has finally gotten underway. Way back in ’02, when the Chicago Sun-Times first broke the news about the infamous video of Kelly having kinky sex with an allegedly underage girl, The Pied Piper got way up on his high horse and denied the claims with ferocious indignation. “It’s crap, and that’s how we're going to treat it,” Kelly told television station WMAQ while preparing to sing at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. “The world is getting ready to watch me sing a song called ‘The World’s Greatest,’ and you’ve got a tape out there trying to ruin my career.”
Kelly blamed the allegations on vindictive former employees who were angry because he refused to pay blackmail. See. Playing the victim.
Personally, I have no doubt that R. Kelly is guilty. The girl in the tape was identified as a minor by her best friend and an aunt. Their testimony could easily undermine the “wasn’t me” defense being offered by R. Kelly and the girl from the tape (who is now in her 20s).
Criminal cases should always turn on the evidence. But there’s no denying that Robert Kelly has a titanic credibility problem going into his trial. He settled at least three civil cases involving allegations of sex with underage teens. He reportedly paid out a quarter-of-a-million in one case alone. Cops in Florida found sexually explicit photos of a teenage girl on a camera inside a duffel bag at Kelly’s residence. That case was dropped on a technicality; the judge ruled that a lower court didn’t have just cause to issue the original search warrant. But the fact remains: the nasty pictures were there.
Oh, and we all know that he married Aaliyah when she was 15.
It would be amazing if R. Kelly would man up the way T.I. has done. Maybe that will happen after the trial (T.I. claimed innocence, too, for a long time). But you’ll pardon me if I don’t hold my breath.
I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.
THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!
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