R. Kelly Victim Given 'Priority Access' To Singer's Music Royalties To Help Collect $4 Million Judgement
March 25 2023, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the victim in the R. Kelly harassment case would be given first dibs at the singer's royalties to help pay off the massive $4 million judgement against him.
Heather Williams filed a civil lawsuit against Kelly in 2019 alleging that when she was just 16 years old the platinum selling artist lured her into his studio and promised her a job if she had sex with him.
She ultimately won the case against the singer and was awarded $4 million, a payment Kelly has yet to pay up.
After assessing the singer's assets, the court decided on March 23 that Williams would be allowed to tap into the royalties Kelly earned through his music distributed at Sony Studios.
The artist's account was valued at around $1.5 million in 2020, before the Honey Love singer lost another $3.5 million in a ruling favoring his property manager in a case over unpaid rent for a Chicago studio.
Thursday’s decision upheld a lower court’s earlier ruling that Williams would be given "priority access" to the royalties because she was the first to properly demand the money from the music label.
Kelly's lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, told Billboard that she's currently seeking to overturn the overall $4 million judgment. Claiming that the award to Williams, "never should have been entered."
"I've never in my career seen such a flouting of the rules to deny him even the opportunity to defend these civil cases, even when the courts were fully aware that Kelly was incarcerated, unrepresented at points, and facing multiple criminal indictments," Bonjean continued.
"Indeed, much of these civil proceedings occurred without Kelly's knowledge."
The judgement already passed through an appeals court and Bonjean herself admits that they face an "uphill battle" attempting to overturn the decision.
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Williams legal team, Midwest Commercial Funding, and Sony all declined to comment on the litigation.
Kelly is currently serving his 30-year sentence behind bars.
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