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At least part of R. Kelly’s circle is finding itself in legal trouble just by association with the embattled R&B singer who is fighting increasingly heated allegations of sexual abuse after a documentary focused on his relationships with women over the past three decades.
According to Hip Hop Wired, Wednesday, James Mason, Kelly’s former manager, is expected to turn himself in to authorities in Georgia after it was alleged he threatened the family of Joycelyn Savage.
Savage is an alleged victim of Kelly’s, and was one of the survivors featured in Lifetime’s docu-series Surviving R. Kelly. According to the family, Mason made the threats after Savage’s parents repeatedly questioned whether Kelly’s relationship with their daughter was consensual.
Sources say Mason opted to surrender to authorities in Henry County after a judge issued the warrant, citing “terroristic threats and acts”.
A police report obtained by The Blast, states that Mason informed Timothy Savage, “I’m gonna do harm to you and your family, when I see you I’m gonna get you, I’m going to f***ing kill you.”
READ MORE: R. Kelly allegedly suffered severe panic attacks before and following airing of Lifetime docuseries
Savage’s attorney, Gerald Griggs, says the family was contacted by the Henry County, Ga., district attorney this week and asked if they objected to Mason being given bail once he turns himself in. It has also come out that another member of Kelly’s staff is under investigation for also threatening the Savage family due to their involvement in the Lifetime exposé.
Producers of the series are said to be in awe of the ripple effect of their project, which continues to spread over a week after its original airing.
“The feedback has just been remarkable and completely unexpected that it’s sort of become as big as it has,” Lifetime’s Brie Miranda Bryant, an executive producer and the network’s senior VP of unscripted development and programming told Variety. “(It’s) certainly transcended the doc itself.”
The six-part takedown brought in an average of 2.1 million total viewers in the live-plus-same-day figures, and has been extensively viewed since, making it one of the biggest ratings wins in Lifetime’s history.
READ MORE: Known R. Kelly associate “person of interest” in shooting threat at ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ premiere