Even in the midst of his turmoil and trials, R. Kelly still has a huge fan base. Unfortunately a few fans he’s since lost, are members of his immediate family. Mainly his ex-wife, Andre “Drea” Kelly, and reportedly their three children. One of their kids, Jaah Kelly- who previously identified as a transgender male, but now identifies as lesbian- has been struggling with her sexuality for many years. She eventually ended up in a psyche ward and there was even a time when R. Kelly, himself, spoke out about Jaah, when trying to make sense of how she felt about herself.
Coming To Terms
When Jaah was a teenager, she took to her blog to come out as transgendered. R. Kelly was quick to speak out, yet he offered no support whatsoever. ABC News reports that during a radio interview at the time, he was even offended that the line of questioning opened with news about Jaah, who went by the name, Jay. Here’s what was reported back then:
ABC News- Speaking to Chicago radio station, WGCI, Kelly said, “You don’t really want to open it up by saying my daughter is becoming my son.”
Kelly was reacting to the news that his child is a transgendered teenager who now goes by, Jay. Jay, who was born Jaya, made the announcement in a blog post on his Ask.FM account about two weeks ago.
“Don’t even give the blogs that kind of credit. You know what I’m saying? Real talk,” Kelly told the radio station Monday.
Drea Kelly also spoke out at that time, yet she did what many parents would do when their child needs them; offered support:
Andrea Kelly told ABC News in a statement today, “A mother’s love is like that of God; it’s nothing you can do to earn, nothing you can do to lose it and nothing will ever change it … I love my baby no matter what and his courage makes it so easy to be a proud mom.”
Years later, Jaah has come to terms with her sexuality and in a recent interview she discussed what it took for her to get there. Also once again, Drea has spoken out about her daughter and also expressed what she feels is the one good thing R. Kelly gave her, even though he’s allegedly been substandard as a parent.
