Iyanla Vanzant Says The Black Community 'Abandoned' R. Kelly

Iyanla Vanzant is apologizing to R. Kelly, arguing that the Black community failed the disgraced R&B singer long before he was sentenced to decades in federal prison for sexually abusing women and children. During an appearance on The Jason Lee Show, the spiritual adviser said she believes community elders should have intervened in Kelly's life instead of letting his problems go unaddressed. "Forgive me as an elder in our community not being available to support you," Vanzant said, addressing Kelly directly. "Forgive me for ignoring your pain. Forgive me for abandoning you." When Lee asked whether she genuinely believed she had abandoned the singer, Vanzant broadened her criticism "Our entire community abandoned him. As an elder, I'm going to own it," she said. "We did. We abandoned him.She then questioned how those circumstances might have affected his emotional development. "And then we want to know why his heart and his soul was so distorted and disturbed?" she asked. Vanzant's remarks come against the backdrop of Kelly's federal convictions, which established a decades-long pattern of sexual exploitation and abuse. In September 2021, a Brooklyn jury convicted the singer on nine federal counts, including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act. Prosecutors demonstrated how Kelly used employees and associates to recruit, control, and exploit women and underage girls. He received a 30-year prison sentence in June 2022

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