Fuel has been added to the fire of the scandal involving the relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly. It has been long and widely reported that the disgraced singer carried on an inappropriate relationship with Aaliyah when she was a young teen, even marrying her when she was just 15 years old. Sadly, Aaliyah would never get the chance to share her side of what occurred during those early years as she was entrusted to Kelly by her family to help shape her career, but there has been speculation for decades.
We have recently seen Aaliyah's catalog make its way to DSPs now that Blackground Records is back up and running thanks to its owner, Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson. He has been on a press run to speak about his new app as well as Aaliyah's life and career, and recently, he sat down with Dr. Oz.
During the chat, Hankerson was once again asked about Aaliyah's relationship with Kelly, and he was insistent that he did not know that she was allegedly being sexually abused. "Didn't have a clue," he said. "Completely ignorant to it." However, he did admit that there were members of the family that knew about what was going on.
"I think my sister knew a lot more than what we thought she knew," Hankerson said of Diane Haughton, Aaliyah's mother. This brief clip has slowly begun circulating online and fans aren't believing his story. However, there have been rumors about who did and did not know about Aaliyah and R. Kelly. People have come forward to blast Hankerson over this interview as they recalled him continuing to work with Kelly following Aaliyah's death.
Check it out below.