"Picture Reshona Landfair in 1996 at 12 years old, when she met the R&B superstar R Kelly (real name Robert Kelly). Her world, she says, seemed like a buffet spread out before her. She was a popular girl, a seriously talented basketball player and the youngest member in her words, the pint-sized girl rapper of 4 The Cause, the singing group she had formed with three cousins."
"Fast forward to Landfair at 26 years old, when she finally left Kelly's orbit. By then, half her family weren't speaking to the other half, and the relationships that survived were charged with guilt, unasked questions and terrible past mistakes. She had no friends left, as Kelly hadn't allowed it. Her hopes of a musical career were also long gone Kelly had made her leave 4 The Cause when she was just 15."
At 12, Reshona Landfair met R Kelly and quickly became a successful young performer, popular in school, a talented basketball player, and the youngest member of 4 The Cause, a group she formed with three cousins that achieved international chart success. Over more than a decade, Kelly exercised control over her life: he isolated her from friends and family, made her leave the group at 15, and dictated her opportunities. By 26, family relationships were fractured, friendships severed, career ambitions destroyed, and she lacked qualifications or a clear path. She learned sex through the lens of a paedophile, leaving lasting psychological and relational harm.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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