Lady Gaga releases statement on R. Kelly, will remove duet from streaming services | Matthew Knowles speaks out on protecting Destiny’s Child from R. Kelly

Lady Gaga has released a statement on R. Kelly’s allegations, and will remove their duet from streaming platforms.

A new documentary on Lifetime, titled Surviving R Kelly, aired this month and has brought renewed attention to the singer’s history and allegations that he has sexually abused women and girls.

Gaga recorded a duet with Kelly, Do What U Want (With My Body), which was released as a single in 2013, a collaboration which was intensely criticised when it was released, in part because of the allegations against him and because of the sexually charged performances they did on Saturday Night Live and the American Music Awards in 2013. The video was directed by famed photographer Terry Richardson, who had also been accused of sexual misconduct, but was never officially released.

Gaga, who has advocated for victims of sexual abuse, faced renewed criticism last week for not speaking out against the singer after reports revealed she had declined to be interviewed for the documentary series.

In response, the US singer posted a lengthy statement to her Twitter account yesterday saying she was sorry for her “poor judgement” in writing the song when she was younger and for “not speaking out sooner”.

In a statement on Twitter, Gaga said: “I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously.”

She added that the allegations against Kelly are “absolutely horrifying and indefensible”. She said: “As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made the song and video at a dark time in my life. My intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative, because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. The song is called ‘Do What U Want (With My Body)’ and I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time.”

Gaga said she also wished she could advise her younger self to “go through the therapy I have since then.”

The statement continued: “I can go forward and continue to support women, men and people of all sexual identities and of all races who are victims of sexual assault.”

In a reference to her Oscar-nominated song, Gaga added: “Til it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels. But I do know how I feel now. I intend to remove the song off iTunes and other streaming services and will not be working with him again. I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young and for not speaking out sooner. I love you.”

Mathew Knowles, father of Beyoncé and ex-manager of girl group Destiny’s Child, has also revealed how he and his then-wife Tina handled the girls being around R. Kelly.

Knowles recalled meeting the R&B singer with the girls – who were teenagers at the time – in the late 90’s.

“I was there, and my former wife Tina was there,” began the 67-year-old as he described to Metro what the studio session was like. “The thing with R. Kelly was, he liked to record late at night, around midnight. And what was different with his studio was that one room had a recording suite, and next door was a club, with 40 or 50 people dancing.”

Knowles then revealed he turned down the song, saying, “I personally rejected the song, because I didn’t think it was a good song. Not just because of [his] reputation – this was around 1998, we had just begun to hear some of those things.”

When asked if the rumours surrounding Kelly and his alleged sexual misconduct influenced his decision regarding any possibly collaborations, he confirmed, “certainly, it was both of those things.”

Knowles added that that he and Tina watched the girls intently throughout the session. “The girls were 15, 16,” he said. “When they went to the bathroom, Tina would go with them. They did not leave our eyes.”

Furthermore, a source claims Mathew and Tina rejected all offers from Kelly as they “didn’t want him anywhere near the band,” resulting in Destiny’s Child becoming one of few acts to debut in the 90’s without an R. Kelly feature.

Kelly has vehemently denied all allegations made against him. However, the R&B star is reportedly under criminal investigation as a result of the highly-publicized Surviving R. Kelly documentary.