R. Kelly Threatens To Sue Lifetime Over "Surviving R. Kelly" Docuseries

Lifetime’s highly-anticipated docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” airs Thursday night, but the R&B singer reportedly wants to pull the plug.

According to TMZ, Kelly’s lawyer, Brian Nix, sent the network a legal letter, accusing the company of making false allegations in the upcoming series. If the project isn’t axed, the attorney has threatened to file a federal lawsuit Thursday, the site reported.

A rep from Lifetime told Billboard the network plans to air the documentary as scheduled. “Lifetime has always been a brand that champions women’s stories,” the rep said.

The six-hour, three-part special traces the vocalist’s life from childhood to present day and delves into his history of alleged physical and emotional abuse of women.

In the teasers, released last year, alleged victims Jerhonda Pace, Kitti Jones, Asante McGee, Lisa Van Allen, singer Sparkle and Kelly's ex-wife, Andrea Kelly, all detail accounts of alleged abuse from the star.

In addition to remarks from accusers, the film will also feature appearances from celebrities and family members, such as singer John Legend, talk show host Wendy Williams, Me Too founder Tarana Burke and R. Kelly’s brothers. Overall, the project includes more than 50 interviews.

On Thursday, many took to Twitter to declare they’d be tuning into the special.

A representative from Lifetime said the network still plans to air ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ as scheduled.

“Surviving R. Kelly” will air on Lifetime at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 3, Friday, Jan. 4 and Saturday, Jan. 5.

Aaliyah‘s mother came forward to slam allegations her daughter had sex with R. Kelly when she was 15 years old.

Diane Haughton released a statement on Twitter to address Aaliyah’s former backup singer’s claims that she witnessed the “Rock the Boat” songstress and Kelly having sex. Jovante Cunningham made the allegations in the new Lifetime docu-series “Surviving R. Kelly.”

“The woman and so-called backup singer that describes seeing, meeting or ever breathing the same air as my daughter, Aaliyah, is lying and is a liar,” Haughton said in the statement. “My husband and I were always on tour with her and at interviews and every place she went throughout her entire career. Whoever this woman is, I have never seen her before anywhere on planet earth, until now.”

Haughton described Cunningham’s claims as “lies and fabrications that cannot be tolerated” and should be spewed from “the forked tongues” of her daughter’s “saboteurs.”

“My daughter only wanted to realize her dream of sharing her talent with the world, and give her all performing on stage and in front of the camera for the fans she adored so much. She realized that dream, thanks to those true fans who still love and support her legacy unconditionally to this day,” Houghton’s statement continued. “Shame on all those involved in this project who thought it kosher to drag Aaliyah’s name into a situation that has nothing to do with her today. Once again, this will not be tolerated.”

In the docu-series, Cunningham detailed the alleged night then 27-year-old Kelly had sexual relations with Aaliyah, who died at age 22 in an airplane crash in the Bahamas.

“We were out on the road with Aaliyah,” she said. “On a tour bus, there really aren’t many confined spaces. When you get on the bus there are bunks and so these bunks have little curtains you can pull at night if you don’t want anybody to see you sleeping.”

She added, “The door flew open on the bus. Robert [Kelly] was having sex with Aaliyah.”

Kelly has been accused of kidnapping women and brainwashing them for his sex cult. He has denied all sexual misconduct allegations against him and also addressed them in a 19-minute song titled “I Admit.”

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