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Singer R. Kelly is not hiding out in his condo as sexual assault charges continue to pile on. Instead, he is out and about, playing b-ball and dining at some of Chicago’s top eateries.
“Last Tuesday, we had a great time dining on Rush Street — along with his attorney Steve Greenberg — where people were coming up to his table in droves,” his publicist, Darrell Johnson told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Look, at the end of the day, it is what it is and he [Kelly] is looking forward to his day in court.”
—Kelly charged with 11 brand NEW counts of sexual abuse—
Johnson said Kelly is also writing music and working on his upcoming album.
“Right now he is looking forward to the release of his first recording [since the latest indictments] hopefully in the next few months — and being able to tour and working with artists on more spiritual songs,” he said.
Michael Sneed, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote in the article that sources told him Kelly recently dined at Tavern on Rush and Gibsons – two top restaurants on Rush Street – and that he was pleasantly greeted by fans who wanted to pose for pictures with him.
“What is really surprising … is when he [Kelly] dines out, he gets no negativity from anybody,” one source, who reportedly dined with Kelly at Gibson’s last week, told Sneed. The source wants to remain anonymous.
Even as Kelly faces the civil suit as well as criminal sex abuse charges that involve four victims – three of whom were minors in the late 1990s when the alleged abuse occurred – some people are still happily snapping pictures with him when they see him out and about. In contrast, President Donald Trump’s son, Eric, was recently spat upon at a Chicago restaurant last week by a disgusted waitress.
—When she got pregnant, Jada Pinkett Smith caved to her “old school” mom and married Will Smith—
“In fact, patrons ask for pictures with him, not of him! Not everybody asks for autographs these days. They want an instant hit. Photos. It makes it easy on everybody,” the unnamed source told the newspaper.
“… he isn’t laying low! He frequently smokes his favorite cigars outside Trump Tower where he lives! And was doing so at Tavern on Rush last week,” the source added.
As a condition of his bail, Kelly is prohibited from leaving the state of Illinois. So he’s been spending some of his time hooping it up with guys from his neighborhood.
“But now it’s at least three days a week with his neighborhood buddies at an indoor court on the South Side, losing weight and doing cardio five days a week,” said his publicist, Johnson.
In other R. Kelly news, last week the embattled singer’s lawyers filed a motion asking a Cook County judge to dismiss a civil sexual abuse lawsuit seeking claims for damages asserting that the statute of limitation had expired.