One of the series’ strengths is the various levels of trauma it considers—the ripples of Kelly’s abuse, and how it continues to affect the people he harmed and those around him.
McLin, Kelly’s music teacher, recalls that Kelly “was very aggressive in some of his sexual language.”
Kelly went on to drop out of school his senior year; his music career soon took off. Surviving R. Kelly paints a picture of a serial predator whose power over and access to victims only increased as his fame grew.
The series also takes pains to emphasize that Kelly targeted young black women—Kenwood high schoolers and kids who hung out at a Hyde Park McDonalds.
The writer Mikki Kendall remembers seeing Kelly at the fast food chain. He would come alone and pick up high school girls.
“People will say, well why didn’t anyone notice? The answer is that we all noticed. No one cared because we were black girls.”