John Legend is speaking out about the recent arrest of R&B singer R. Kelly.
Just days after R. Kelly was taken into custody in Chicago for allegedly having sex with underage girls, Legend sat down with the Today show Tuesday and reflected on the events surrounding the Fiesta singer’s legal saga.
The All of Me performer, who slammed Kelly on Twitter back in January — when Surviving R. Kelly aired — told Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb that the arrest was a “long time coming.”
“I think a lot of us kind of tolerated or looked the other way on that issue for a long time and a lot of people were being hurt for decades, and we looked away for too long,” he said.
Read More: John Legend Slams ‘Serial Child Rapist’ R. Kelly
Legend, who also participated in Lifetime’s six-part documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, spoke about the project’s role in bringing criminal charges against R. Kelly.
“I’m so glad that the victims got to have their voices heard, and I think them having their voices heard, this story being retold, because it’s been told before,” he explained. “But I think being retold through that medium really brought the issue to a lot of people’s attention, and I think it inspired the law enforcement to move on some things that they weren’t moving on before.”
On Friday, Feb. 22, R. Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four females, including three minors.
Three of the four victims were between ages 13 and 17 when the alleged abuse occurred between 1998 and 2010, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement.
During a hearing, the presiding judge set the singer-songwriter’s bond at $1 million. R. Kelly didn’t have 10 percent of the judgment to secure his release, but he was released Monday, after an unidentified woman in Romeoville, Illinois reportedly posted the money.
Legend didn’t address the entertainer making bail during his Today interview, but there’s a good chance he wasn’t happy about the development given his past comments.
“To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn’t feel risky at all. I believe these women and don’t give a f—k about protecting a serial child rapist,” he tweeted. “Easy decision.”
You can watch Legend’s interview below.
“I think it’s been a long time coming…we looked away for too long…his victims deserve justice.” @JohnLegend on R. Kelly pic.twitter.com/3M4GM3oD1y
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 26, 2019
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