dream hampton on Surviving R Kelly Supporting Survivors and Why She Wants a Social Death for R Kelly
The documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, which aired on Lifetime in the first week of January, has prompted new interest in the RB singer's alleged sexual misconduct with minors. Focusing on stories about his illicit behavior that have circulated for decades, the docuseries raises questions about the limited actions in response to these women's stories, especially in light of the MeToo movement, charges filed against Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby's guilty verdict. The six-part series, executive produced by the filmmaker dream hampton, features interviews with survivors and parents of girls who they say have been taken captive by Kelly, along with accounts of him coercing women into sex with underage girls and preying on teenagers. The New York Times had an op-ed about how Surviving R. Kelly brought the focus of the MeToo movement back to black girls. The documentary touches on how R. Kelly has avoided consequences in part because people broadly have not cared about the stories of black girls and women. Do you see this as a new starting point to center these voices going forward?, The kind of work we've been doing, we've always been doing. These movements, for racial justice and gender justice, always overlap with black women. The MeToo movement and the generation that will fight for gender justice safety is absolutely not being led by celebrities. We know about Gwyneth Paltrow and Mira Sorvino's stories  we're aware of that. You're not always aware of what we're doing, and what we're always doing is organizing. When Rick Ross had a lyric about drugging a woman's glass of champagne and raping her, women's activist group UltraViolet targeted Reebok to cancel his endorsement. That was years ago. We are always doing the work. On Twitter, people have asked you questions like, "What about Harvey Weinstein?" or about not making a "Surviving Catholic Priests," or another kind of documentary that wasn't about a black man. Why do you think people are obsessed with this idea that Kelly is the wrong subject? , When people ask on Twitter, "Why isn't this about Harvey Weinstein," they're really asking "Why is this not about Gwyneth Paltrow or Mira Sorvino?" It's not about them, not because I don't think they are women who are deserving of processing pain and getting justice for their trauma. I care about these black girls, black girls in general, and women. And I made a film about a man from my generation. I don't know any other cis men who don't benefit from patriarchy. It's not that R. Kelly is offensive or a creep, or because he has a predilection for young girls, but because he has been a predator for almost three decades and he's ruined the lives of countless girls and their families. How can people watching this series at home support survivors? , These are everyday women. They may have come across a predator who happens to be world famous, but we can all look out for predatory behavior. We can stop using euphemisms for this. I always hope something like this series can be used as a tool for organizing. MuteRKelly protests were in front of his studio the other day. Donations to A Long Walk Home, which works to save victims of domestic violence, have increased. We've seen calls at domestic centers increase. I could never have anticipated these things.