R. Kelly's Former Tour Manager Admits Under Oath He Bribed Government Employee So The Singer Could Marry 15-Year-Old Aaliyah
R. Kelly's trial continues and the witness testimonies seem to get more upsetting every day.
While in court on Friday, the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer's former tour manager, Demetrious Smith, admitted under oath he paid a government worker a $500 bribe to forge an identification card for then 15-year-old Aaliyah Dana Haughton, so that the R&B artist could marry her.
The ex manager claimed that in 1994, he made his way into a Chicago welfare office, walked up to a government employee taking ID pictures, and asked them if they "want to make some money," then promptly handed over the large sum of cash.
Kelly was 27 when he married the 15-year-old up and coming songstress, but their official marriage license states that she was 18-years-old at the time of their marriage.
It is currently speculated that the "Trapped In The Closet" artist purposely tied the knot with her so quickly because he did not want her to be able to testify against him in court if her true age was discovered.
Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash in 2001, and never was given the chance to testify against the allegedly emotionally and physically abusive singer.
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Author Kathy Iandoli recently took a deep dive into the horrible tragedy in her book, Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah.
It is alleged that when the 22-year-old performer saw the plane that she would later die aboard, she refused to get on. She reportedly took a pill given to her by a member of her team, fell asleep, and later, had to be physically carried onto the plane.
OK! recently reported that Kelly's ex assistant also testified on Friday.
Anthony Navarro said that going through the Grammy Award winning singer's was "like a different world", and that once inside, the women had a set list of "Rob's Rules" that they had to follow.
"If they’re not where they’re supposed to be, you’d have to tell Rob or a manager. They weren’t supposed to be wandering around, they weren’t supposed to leave the room." He later noted that the staff were not allow to talk to "any of the females", and that occasionally "they would get envelopes of money when leaving."
