R. Kelly accuser Faith Rodgers says backlash against her is "worse since he's in jail"
Faith Rodgers, one of the women who has accused disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly of sexual misconduct, said coming forward about the artist hasn't felt like a victory. Since the accusations have come out, there have been verbal and physical attacks on the 21-year-old, her father said.
Kelly being in custody is "never going to stop the backlash," Rodgers said on "CBS This Morning" Thursday. "If anything, it's kind of worse since he's in jail. It's a whole bunch of angry fans, so it really hasn't gotten any better. Knowing he's in jail, that's just knowing he's not hurting anybody else, but people who he hurt are still being affected."
Rodgers, who appears in "Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning," accused Kelly of recording them having sex without her consent and knowingly giving her an STD when she was 19. Rodgers said she left Kelly after about a year and filed a lawsuit against him.
Kelly was first arrested in February, about a month after the release of the first installment of "Surviving R. Kelly." He now faces sex crime charges in Chicago and New York. He pleaded not guilty and is in federal custody awaiting trial.
Rodgers' father, Pastor Charles Rodgers, who appeared with her on "CBS This Morning," said he worries about Faith's safety.
"There's been a lot of negativity. We often worry about Faith's well-being, her safety," he said. "When she's out trying to live her life, you know, many times she's attacked verbally, she's been attacked physically. It's pretty traumatizing."
In response to the accusations from Faith and other women, an attorney for R. Kelly said, "I have not seen the show, 'Surviving R. Kelly Part II,' so I do not know what lies and distortions they are planning to air. But both of these women are simply out to exploit their past connection to R. Kelly. Look at their social media, they are not victims, they are profiteers."
Faith and her parents said she has never been out for money.
"We knew that there were some other young ladies there, there were other victims, and by Faith coming forward, that was our objective originally, just to hold him accountable," Charles Rodgers said. "We were told that it would help in other cases and actually free those young ladies that he had at the time."
Faith said she is willing to participate in the federal case against Kelly in any way she can. Asked if she would testify, she said, "If they ask me, then I'll do my part."
She added that Kelly "needs to go to jail forever. There needs to be no getting out."
"It hasn't just been me," she said. "It's a track record, so even if it's not justice for me, for the next person, that's good enough."
"Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning," premieres Thursday night on Lifetime.
