Benzino is right here for Kelly getting a “second likelihood” amid his disgraced public picture. R. Kelly’s legacy has taken a number of Ls over the previous few years, overshadowed by allegations of sexual assault and abuse in opposition to ladies and kids.
Benzino Says “Everybody” Together with Kelly Deserves A “Second Likelihood”
Regardless of acknowledging Benzino’s prison historical past, Benzino shared why he believes the Grammy winner deserves public help. The dialog went down on the ‘We In Miami’ podcast.
“All people deserves a second likelihood. However I do know that Elvis, quite a lot of motherf**kers f**okay with 14, 15, n****s f**okay with younger ladies to maintain it 100. I’m not into that.”
Benzino added that the “authorized age is 16 years previous” after which requested the opposite hosts and friends if the authorized half makes pursuing ladies that age “proper.” The ladies on the set shortly disagreed, calling it “very unsuitable” and “gross.”
Benzino then questioned why Kelly is being subjected to “all this time” in jail. He urged that lawmakers made the authorized age 16 due to their very own pedophile-related experiences.
To make clear, the authorized age of consent in SOME states is 16 however general varies between 16-18 in america, per Cornell Legislation Faculty. On the federal and state ranges, although, the age of consent for creating sexually express visible content material is eighteen–no exceptions– per the Dept. of Justice.
“I’m not condoning f**king with little ladies, it’s sick. It’s sick, however I don’t suppose R. Kelly ought to rot in jail both,” Benzino mentioned.
See what Benzino mentioned in regards to the matter beneath.
EXPLAINED: Why Is R. Kelly In Jail?
In 2022, Chicago jurors convicted R. Kelly on three prices of manufacturing little one sexual abuse pictures and three prices of enticement of minors for intercourse. He was sentenced in Feb. 2023.
Final week, a federal appeals court docket doubled down on the 20-year jail sentence he obtained, per the Related Press. The three-judge panel famous that the jurors acquitted Kelly on 7 of the 13 counts in opposition to him “even after viewing these abhorrent tapes.”
The appeals court docket additionally rejected Kelly’s argument that he mustn’t have been prosecuted. His protection argued that the allegations occurred whereas Illinois regulation required prosecution of kid intercourse crime prices inside ten years.
The judges labeled it an try by Kelly to swerve the fees solely after “using a posh scheme to maintain victims quiet.”
Additionally in 2022, the previous R&B singer was convicted in New York of federal racketeering and intercourse trafficking. The court docket gave him 30 years for his crimes. He’s serving each sentences concurrently.
Related Press workers Kathleen Foody contributed to this report.