R. Kelly’s legal team says the singer suffered what they describe as a medication-related incident while in solitary confinement earlier this month.
Currently serving a 30-year sentence in a North Carolina prison, Kelly was convicted on serious charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking involving minors. In new court filings submitted this week, his lawyers claim he was given an excessive dose of medication by prison staff on June 12 while isolated from other inmates.
According to the documents, Kelly felt lightheaded the following morning and collapsed. His attorneys say he tried to get up, but ultimately passed out after crawling to his cell door. He was reportedly transported to Duke University Hospital, where he remained under medical care for two days.
When asked for a response, the Bureau of Prisons declined to offer details, citing privacy and security policies. “We don’t comment on individual cases or ongoing legal matters,” they said.
Kelly’s lawyers had also filed an emergency request for him to serve the remainder of his sentence under home detention, claiming that he was the target of a deliberate attack involving prison officials.
Federal prosecutors responded by calling the claims “absurd” and “overdramatized,” arguing that the request lacked legal merit and was filed in the wrong court.
Kelly was first convicted in 2021 in New York, accused of leading a network that exploited young women and teenagers. A separate Chicago case in 2022 added convictions for child pornography and the enticement of a minor.
He’s currently serving time for the New York case, with most of the Chicago sentence running alongside it.
