美国国家公共电台 NPR Making 'Surviving R. Kelly': A Conversation With Executive Producer dream hampton

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Singer, producer and songwriter R. Kelly is one of the bestselling R&B artists. But a new docuseries from Lifetime that debuts¹ tonight called "Surviving R. Kelly" alleges² he has a darker side. It features the stories of women who say Kelly abused them, isolated³ them and had sex with them as underage girls. NPR's TV critic Eric Deggans watched the series, and he talked to executive producer Dream Hampton. A warning - this story will talk about allegations of sex with minors⁴ and about physical abuse.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE⁵: Dream Hampton first interviewed Robert Sylvester Kelly back in 2000 for Vibe magazine. She knew the star faced controversy⁷ over his rumored⁸ marriage to protege and singer Aaliyah, who was only 15 when they wed⁶. But she had no idea even darker allegations about his behavior would emerge.

DREAM HAMPTON: What began to become clear a few months after my story was published was that this was predatory behavior, that he had settled several lawsuits⁹ with teenagers. I missed it. I totally missed it.

DEGGANS: Now Hampton gets another crack at the story. "Surviving R. Kelly" features interviews with more than 50 people. They include Kelly's ex-wife, two brothers and former employees. A number of women alleged¹⁰ the singer developed a sexual relationship with them when they were underage and/or physically¹¹ abused them. R. Kelly's denied such charges in the past and didn't respond to repeated inquiries¹² from the program's producers. Jerhonda Pace, who says she was involved with Kelly at age 16, describes physical abuse which made her decide to leave him.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SURVIVING R. KELLY")

JERHONDA PACE: The breaking point for me was when Rob slapped me, and he choked me until I blacked out.

DEGGANS: Kitti Jones was an adult when she says she began dating Kelly in 2011. She notes the singer had a way of indoctrinating women.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SURVIVING R. KELLY")

KITTI JONES: He calls it training you. You definitely had to ask to go to the restroom, stand up when he walks in the room. You had to ask for your food.

DEGGANS: Andrea Kelly was married to the singer for more than a decade. She says his controlling attitude and constant cheating pushed her to consider suicide.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SURVIVING R. KELLY")

ANDREA KELLY: So I just prayed and asked God for a sign, and something said to get my laptop. And I went to the National Domestic Violence Awareness¹³ hotline. And there are 17 questions. There was only two things on that list that Robert hadn't done to me.

DEGGANS: Dream Hampton says she centered the docuseries on the voices of these women and many others - average black and brown women too easily ignored by the wider world.

HAMPTON: I thought that they were really brave. And I knew that R. Kelly had been doing this for decades and that if we had 12 or 20 women who were willing to come on camera, there were hundreds more who weren't.

DEGGANS: "Surviving R. Kelly" details decades of disturbing allegations - the infamous¹⁴ leaked video, which allegedly showed the singer having sex and committing degrading acts with a 14-year-old girl in the early 2000s, and recent allegations from parents who say their adult daughters have been isolated by Kelly in something resembling a sex cult¹⁵. Kelly denies all of it.

Given how allegations of sexual misconduct have derailed the showbiz careers of people like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, you have to wonder, why does R. Kelly still have a career? Although, there is a protest movement out there called #MuteRKelly. Some people in the docuseries suggest it's because Kelly victimized black and brown women. They say there would be more public outcry if Kelly's victims were white. Dream Hampton won't go that far. But she does want his fans, many of whom are black, to feel uncomfortable.

HAMPTON: I want them to be unable to loudly kind of declare their defense¹⁶ of R. Kelly. They can do it quietly. They can live with their little shame and play their R. Kelly records, but they should have some shame attached to that.

DEGGANS: "Surviving R. Kelly" makes that point in the most direct way possible by giving voice to those who say they've been overlooked for decades. I'm Eric Deggans.

1 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

2 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

9 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

12 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

14 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

15 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。