The Cut

20 Years Ago, She Warned Us About R. Kelly

Sparkle knew R. Kelly as a mentor and friend. She introduced her 12-year-old niece, an aspiring rapper, to him 20 years ago. And then a sex tape surfaced—a tape that Sparkle said showed Kelly was abusing her niece. When she raised the alarm, no one listened. Instead, Dave Chappelle made a parody of it, and we all laughed it off. For decades, Sparkle has been paying the price for speaking out. She spoke to us about her role in bringing Kelly to justice and her reaction to the verdict.
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In Her Shoes from the Cut is a weekly conversation between a special guest and Lindsay Peoples, The Cut's Editor-in-Chief, exploring culture, style, sex, politics and more. Intimate, provocative, and probing, the Cut aims to ask questions before listeners even know they have them, always with a generous wit and an expansive idea of what is possible. From New York Magazine and The Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes every other Wednesday.