Backup singer says she saw R. Kelly performing sexual act on underage Aaliyah

A former backup singer for Aaliyah testified Monday that she once saw R. Kelly performing oral sex on the deceased singer. She claimed Aaliyah was probably 13 or 14 at the time.

According to BuzzFeed News, the woman, identified as Angela, told the court she met Aaliyah for the first time on her 12th or 13th birthday, adding that R. Kelly informed her and another girl they were going to work as backup singers for the young musician. That was prior to the release of Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.

Angela testified the oral sex incident occurred in Washington, D.C. while she was on tour with R. Kelly and Aaliyah. She said she was in a hotel room together with other backup singers when they decided to enter their tour bus to play a prank on R. Kelly. But when she opened the bus door, she testified she saw the disgraced singer performing oral sex on Aaliyah. She said she quickly shut and door and never addressed the incident with R. Kelly.

The 54-year-old musician is currently facing a federal trial in New York. He has been charged with one count of racketeering and four counts of violating the Mann Act. The federal law bans the transportation of minors across states for prostitution purposes.

Elsewhere in Monday’s trial, Angela also testified she had sexual intercourse with R. Kelly during their first meeting in 1991. She said she was then an aspiring singer and was aged between 14 and 15 at the time. Angela added she was taken to the singer’s Chicago apartment by another girl identified as Tiffany. And there were also two other teenage girls in the apartment.

Besides having sexual intercourse with her, Angela testified R. Kelly also engaged in sexual activity with the other three girls. R. Kelly allegedly continued having sexual contact with Angela for about three or four years.

“He told us that we had to ‘pay our dues’ — it was a requirement to be around,” Angela claimed, adding that R. Kelly also made her and Tiffany quit school so they could be fully committed to their careers in music, BuzzFeed News reported.

“We were given an option: We were either going to sing, or we were going to go to school,” Angela said.