Soulless

The essential account of R. Kelly’s actions and their consequences, a reckoning two decades in the making.

 

In November 2000, after receiving an anonymous fax that alleged R. Kelly had a problem with “young girls,” journalist Jim DeRogatis broke a shocking story wide open, publishing allegations that the R&B superstar had groomed girls, sexually abused them, and paid them off.

DeRogatis thought his work would have an impact; instead Kelly’s career flourished. No one seemed to care: not the music industry, not the culture at large, not the parents of numerous other young girls. But for more than 18 years, DeRogatis stayed on the story—he was the one sent the disturbing videotape that led to Kelly’s child pornography trial, he was the one whose window was shot out, he was the one who women trusted with their stories.

Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly is DeRogatis’s masterpiece, a work of tenacious journalism and powerful writing. It is an outrageous, darkly riveting account of the life and actions of R. Kelly, and their horrible impact, by the only person to tell it.