RHOA’S Porsha Williams claimed in her new memoir that she was “abused” by R Kelly explaining that it was her “opportunity” to speak out.
The reality star spoke out about her encounter with the rapper who was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of various felonies.
Porsha, 33, detailed her interactions with the R&B singer in her book, sharing that after meeting through a friend the aspiring musician was flown to Chicago to meet R Kelly for a potential work opportunity.
The then-25-year-old was taken to the singer’s home instead of a recording studio which was the inital destination she was told.
Upon arrival, she was left alone in a room for hours before R Kelly joined her and prompted her to take off her clothes.
“I’ve already put myself in this position. This is what you’re supposed to do. You have to. There is no turning back,” she recited in the memoir.
Porsha described two additional meetings with the Grammy-award winner where she discovered other young women in his home, and one instance when she heard a woman being beaten in the next room.
The Real Housewives star decided not to return to the Ignition singer’s home thereafter and has kept the encounter a secret ever since.
On September 28, 2021, R Kelly’s trial came to an end following six weeks of graphic testimony.
In the highly-publicized trial, R Kelly faced a total of nine counts, which included one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, and sex trafficking charges.
He also faced eight additional counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law.
R Kelly was found guilty of nine counts, one count of racketeering, and eight counts of violating the Mann Act.
Of the 14 underlying acts for the racketeering count, he needed to be found guilty of at least two to be convicted of that count.
Jurors found prosecutors had proven all but two of the 14 underlying racketeering acts.
Several accusers testified in lurid detail during the trial, alleging that R Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.
After the verdict was reached, Jacquelyn Kasulis, acting US attorney from the Eastern District of New York released a statement regarding the singer, saying: “Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification.
Adding: R Kelly is “a predator who used his inner circle to ensnare underage girls and young men and women for decades, in a sordid web of sex abuse, exploitation and humiliation.
“To the victims in this case, your voices were heard and justice was finally served.”
SPEAKING OUT
During a sit-down with PEOPLE, the Bravo star explained why she chose to include her run-ins with R Kelly in her book.
“I realized it was my opportunity to help anyone who’s been hurt by him. There had been so many other instances where I had been abused by men that my mentality [at that time] was of an abused person, and that it was okay for me to be treated like that,” she said.
Porsha also revealed her reasoning behind keeping such a heavy secret for all these years, even from her close family and friends.
“It’s not something you want to tell your mom, because my mom is a very strong woman and she did her very best in raising me.
“And I think for any woman or man who’s been in an abusive situation, you don’t want to tell your parents because you don’t want them to think that they had let you down in any way,” she continued.
“I don’t want her to think that she had done anything wrong. And so I took it upon myself.”
“But I was glad when I did, she was glad that I told her and we talked about it. She told me some of her experiences. And we just talked about how this should be told so other women don’t have to go through it,” Porsha added.
Her novel, The Pursuit of Porsha: How I Grew Into My Power and Purpose will be released on November 30.
