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R. Kelly survivor reclaims her name and power in new memoir · DEEP INSIGHT

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  Speaker 1: Once anonymous R Kelly survivor is reclaiming her voice in
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  Speaker 1: a new memoir. Rashona Landfair was known as Jane Doe
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  Speaker 1: when she testified at the disgraced R and B. Singer's
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  Speaker 1: federal trial back in twenty twenty two. She was the
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  Speaker 1: fourteen year old girl in the infamous sex video that
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  Speaker 1: ultimately led to racketeering and sex trafficking convictions and a
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  Speaker 1: thirty year prison sentence for Kelly. In her book Who's
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  Speaker 1: Watching Shorty, Rashona recounts the decade long abusive relationship but
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  Speaker 1: the man who called her his goddaughter, the man to
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  Speaker 1: whom she said she lost her virginity, to her voice
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  Speaker 1: and her emotional wellbeing. Rashona Landfair joined us now. Rashona,
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  Speaker 1: thank you so much for speaking with us. For years,
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  Speaker 1: you hid your identity. You say that you were just
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  Speaker 1: known as the R Kelly Girl. Why did you feel
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  Speaker 1: that you needed to write this book?
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  Speaker 2: I wrote this book for a few reasons. The first
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  Speaker 2: is it was only the true way of me to
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  Speaker 2: reclaim myself, my name and who I really was as
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  Speaker 2: a person, and just to become out of the shadow
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  Speaker 2: of the R. Kelly Girl and live in that orbit.
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  Speaker 1: I want to read just a passage from your book
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  Speaker 1: in regard to your father. It reads, in part, I
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  Speaker 1: wish you had been suspicious enough to catch Robert in
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  Speaker 1: the act of making sneaky sexual gestures towards me. I
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  Speaker 1: wish you had noticed the confusion that lurked behind my smiles. Dad.
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  Speaker 1: I never doubted your love for me. I just wish
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  Speaker 1: that your love could have pushed past your fear and
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  Speaker 1: fought for me. You note in your book that no
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  Speaker 1: one in your world was trying to protect you from
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  Speaker 1: Robert Kelly. Your father passed away a few years ago.
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  Speaker 1: You had a strained relationship with your mother. She also
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  Speaker 1: read your book, What's your relationship like with her now?
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  Speaker 1: As well as the rest of your family?
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  Speaker 2: First rest in peace. For my father, there were a
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  Speaker 2: lot of things in the studio that were very distracting.
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  Speaker 2: He was very focused on music, and when those things
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  Speaker 2: were happening, I was very scared and very feelful, and
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  Speaker 2: was hoping that he would just notice something or feel
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  Speaker 2: something that felt uncomfortable. My mom and I are a family.
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  Speaker 2: We love each other very different. Very dearly, we were
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  Speaker 2: in therapy and really trying to focus on our relationship.
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  Speaker 1: When it comes to the infamous sex video where your
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  Speaker 1: identity was out there during the trial, you ask this
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  Speaker 1: very poignant question in your book. You say, I wonder
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  Speaker 1: if my body hadn't been brown, would anyone outside of
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  Speaker 1: the jury have seen it exposed and abused? Would anyone
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  Speaker 1: even know my name? Historically, as you know, black and
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  Speaker 1: brown girls have been systemically over sexualized. If your body
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  Speaker 1: hadn't been brown, as you say, do you think that
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  Speaker 1: there would have been a different outcome.
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  Speaker 2: I just everybody deserves to be treated fairly, no matter
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  Speaker 2: the color of your skin. I I do think things
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  Speaker 2: could have been handled differently and would have been handled
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  Speaker 2: differently if you know, it was a different situation. However,
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  Speaker 2: I was very exposed and tossed around and the public eye,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, the sex tape really just over my
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  Speaker 2: entire identity.
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  Speaker 1: You're forty one years old now, You've course experienced a
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  Speaker 1: lot of trauma, a lot of healing. You're now a
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  Speaker 1: mother of a five year old. What would you want
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  Speaker 1: your five year old to know going into those teenage
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  Speaker 1: years that you felt like you didn't know.
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  Speaker 2: I grew up, you know, a pop star. I was
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  Speaker 2: very popular, like overseas. I grew up around a lot
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  Speaker 2: of adults, and just really keeping control of that environment,
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  Speaker 2: keeping the environment kid friendly, and just really understanding that adults,
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  Speaker 2: you know, just because they're close family, they're not necessarily
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  Speaker 2: your friends, and just really staying in you know, good
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  Speaker 2: graces with childhood.
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  Speaker 1: Who would you say you are today.
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  Speaker 2: Again, I'm a mother, I'm a mentor, I'm still a
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  Speaker 2: work in progress, I'm still healing. The purpose of this
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  Speaker 2: book again was just to re store myself and reflam
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  Speaker 2: my name, and just to give people hope that has
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  Speaker 2: suffered trauma in silence and just giving them a voice
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  Speaker 2: and inspiring them to speak up.
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  Speaker 1: You said that your passion is to now help those
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  Speaker 1: who have gone through similar experiences. You're the founder of
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  Speaker 1: Project Refine, a mentor program from young women. Tell us
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  Speaker 1: about the organization and how it's helped you heal.
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  Speaker 2: So Project Refine just gives me the opportunity to turn
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  Speaker 2: my pain into purpose. I really focus on younger girls,
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  Speaker 2: single moms and just really pouring into their lives and
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  Speaker 2: changing their outcomes of who they become, and just really
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  Speaker 2: just trying to be the best person I can be.
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  Speaker 1: Through like in of other people Rashona Lanfair. We thank
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  Speaker 1: you so much for sharing your story. The book Who's
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  Speaker 1: Watching Shorty Reclaiming Myself from the Shame of R. Kelly's
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  Speaker 1: Abuse is available now. R Kelly's legal team has provided
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  Speaker 1: a statement. It reads, mister Kelly has not seen the memoir. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: he cannot comment on any specific allegation. The experience of
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  Speaker 1: the Chicago federal trial already demonstrated that memoirs and documentaries
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  Speaker 1: often contain information that proves to be false. This is
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  Speaker 1: how my office got mister Kelly's business manager, Daryl McDavid,
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  Speaker 1: exonerated on all charges. Nonetheless, mister Kelly does not wish
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  Speaker 1: to engage in any kind of reputation that would in
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  Speaker 1: any way limit the financial success of Miss Landfair's memoir.
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  Speaker 1: She was thrust into the public eye against her will
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  Speaker 1: at an early age by unscrupulous person's intent on assassinating
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  Speaker 1: the reputation of mister Kelly. She did not deserve that
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  Speaker 1: or the years of torment that followed from it. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: if there is a financial benefit Miss Landfair can get
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  Speaker 1: now by using mister Kelly's name in a book, he
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  Speaker 1: wants her to have it. He wishes her success and
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  Speaker 1: peace at all levels.