Lady Gaga plans to remove a song she recorded with fellow music superstar R. Kelly from iTunes and other streaming services, the latest fallout from a blistering documentary series charging Kelly with decades of sexual misconduct.
Gaga, who may also be in line for an Oscar nomination for her performance in “A Star is Born,” said she believes Kelly’s accusers and has decided to pull their 2013 collaboration, “Do What U Want (With My Body),” from digital music outlets.
“What I am hearing about the allegations against R Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible,” she said in a statement posted on Twitter. “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.”
The singer explained that her own experience with sexual assault prompted her decision.
“As a victim of sexual assault, myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life,” she wrote. “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 . . . I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young and for not speaking out sooner.”
Meanwhile, Kelly could be facing an investigation in Georgia after the airing of the six-part Lifetime “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary series, CNN reported. The R&B star was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008 after a video surfaced six years earlier allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sex with an underage girl.
He has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
