American pop star Lady Gaga has issued a public apology for her 2013 single "DO What U Want" featuring R. Kelly, an American R&B singer whose career has long been plagued by allegations of sexual abuse of women and underage girls – accusations which he has repeatedly and vehemently denied.
In a lengthy message posted on Twitter on Thursday, Lady Gaga described the allegations against R. Kelly as "absolutely horrifying and indefensible", and promised to remove the song from "iTunes and other streaming artists", vowing to never work with him again.
"As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both 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," she stated.
I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault: pic.twitter.com/67sz4WpV3i
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) 10 января 2019 г.
The singer’s apology elicited a somewhat mixed reaction from her audience, with some praising her for the move.
You did not owe anyone an explanation Gaga. You are a beautiful person, with a beautiful soul that has saved and inspired so many people. I respect this post so much because you continue to show how your kindness is everlasting. I love you. I support you. ❤️
— A Shook Is Born (@Apollo_XCVI) 10 января 2019 г.
Thank you and sorry to hear you had to go through such a dark time in 2013.
— Gaga Daily (@gagadaily) 10 января 2019 г.
for anyone who has been a supporter of you, we know where you stand and just as you said, how much you've advocated for victims ever since. thank you for speaking out though, you're always number one ❤️❤️
— Lady Gaga Facts (@LGMonsterFacts) 10 января 2019 г.
Others urged her not to remove the song but rather replace it with a different version which does not feature R. Kelly.
Replace the album version with the Xtina version and we will pretend it was the original version ❤️
— horace (@trashygaytweets) 10 января 2019 г.
Replace DWUW with the solo version pleaseeee
— Lady Gaga Updates (@LGTourNews) 10 января 2019 г.
@ladygaga at least you have the option of replacing it with the @xtina version. Your die hard fans (like myself) still love the song, we just don't want to hear his vocals. Thank you 😇
— Christian Saad (@ChristianSaad) 10 января 2019 г.
A number of people, however, apparently did not regard the singer’s apology as sincere.
Like you didn't know about R. Kelly when you did "Do What You Want" with him. Everyone knew. Burn in Hell, Gaga, you satanic witch.
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) 10 января 2019 г.
.She is crazy she even knew he was pedophile, someone would have told her, it is even worse because she gave him status under her young fanbase while knowing he was a pedophile rapist.
— Almops (@Calimer0c0mplex) 10 января 2019 г.
Gaga's excuse is far to little and faaaaaaaarrrr to late.
According to The Independent, Lady Gaga delivered her apology after she “came under scrutiny towards the end of last year” when a producer of Surviving R Kelly, a new documentary detailing sexual abuse allegations against the musician, said they approached Gaga to be interviewed in the film but she declined.
On January 3, Timothy Savage, a man who claims that his adult daughter is being held against her will by R. Kelly, also filed a complaint with the police, insisting that the musician’s manager threatened him over his participation in the documentary, NBC News reports.
