Keke Palmer criticises R Kelly, says "that's not the person I worked with"

American actor-singer Keke Palmer is still trying to wrap her head around the downfall of her former mentor and singer R Kelly.

During an appearance on 'Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen', last night, Palmer recalled her experience watching Lifetime's documentary 'Surviving R. Kelly', in which multiple women came forward claiming that Kelly used his power to sexually and physically abuse them and other young girls, reported E! News.

"The whole thing was eye-opening, painful, sad, disappointing and heartbreaking," Palmer said.

However, she was also surprised and said, "Yes, because that's not the side I knew. That's not the person that I worked with. That's not the experience I had. So, just imagine if you're having a great experience with someone and then you're hearing all this stuff it's like, 'Why didn't you show them what you showed me?' That's the feeling I had."

 

"I hated talking about it because I felt like, man, you were a friend to me but then I'm seeing you as a foe to others and I'm hurt for them," she continued.

"How do I feel about it? How do I put myself in this position now? It was very sad. I think that anybody that loved him as a person probably feels that way. That's not something you want to hear about somebody that you cared for," she added.

Early in her career, the 25-year-old star was a student under the now-disgraced singer, seeking his advice on how to balance her passion for singing and acting.

"I spent a lot of time working with R. Kelly. And one thing that he told me, he was like, 'Keke, you don't need to shy away from your acting. You bring that to a part of your music. You make that take your music to the next level'," she told Billboard in 2017.

However, after watching the documentary-series in January, she saw another side to Kelly.

"Just finished Surviving R. Kelly and I have spent the last hour crying," she wrote on Instagram back then.

"As a student of R. Kelly's for the time, I was and having been around his light and understanding the obstacles he overcame as a child to actually be birthed into the musical genius he is today. All to put others through the same darkness he was running from is the most disheartening thing to accept. R. Kelly received that grace from God. God blessed him to vindicate his childhood shortcomings and yet still he has slapped God in the face by his actions towards these women," she added.

"I am hurt and saddened because he could have been a blessing to these women but instead he repeatedly took advantage and that I can not accept. I will stand by my sisters because that's simply what's right and what I hope discontinues this behaviour in anyone," Palmer continued.

The three-time Grammy Award winner has continued to deny all the allegations levelled against him. In June, Kelly pleaded not guilty to 11 new sex-related felony charges. Earlier this year, he also pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of sexual abuse.