2 weeks ago
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But she explained why anyway...
Drea Kelly has explained exactly why she kept her ex-husband, R. Kelly‘s, last name, despite the fact that they are divorced and that the fallen R&B star is currently incarcerated on heinous charges.
During a recent chat with Carlos King, the choreographer says that she’s been questioned before as to why she would hold on to the surname, similarly to Tina Turner fighting to keep her name following her split from Ike Turner. While the public understands that Tina put in the work to earn the name, many question if Drea has done the same.
“You don’t even know what I do!”, Drea declared after claiming people have told her that she didn’t “bring anything to the table” like Ms. Tina did. “You don’t even know what my profession is, and at the end of the day, what do I bring to the table if I am the table?”
Drea was sure to mention that as a principal dancer and choreographer for Kelly, she also played the role of Creative Director, styling videos and appearing alongside Kelly in his biggest videos and performances. She also stressed her importance as a wife and mother.
“I brought a whole womb. I birthed children, so for women to even say something like that is sad to me…and because you can’t clock what I do, because you haven’t done your research, you think it’s okay to go on the internet and say, ‘she don’t do nothing, Tina Turner did something,’ the only difference between me and Tina Turner is she sang on the stage with Ike, I danced on one with Robert.”
King then followed up, asking how she feels when people say she should drop the name.
“I don’t give a f**k what you feel,” she replied. “I don’t. At the end of the day, I earned this name in blood, sweat and tears. It’s my kids’ name…when all the sh*t hit the fan, how would you feel if your name is Brown and your kids name is Brown, and your family goes through something, and you tell your kids, ‘Oop! You a Brown by yourself, I’m out!’ No, if my kids gotta go through it as Kelly, they mama going through it as Kelly.”
She went on to detail the platforms she’s been welcomed on to discuss serious issues that may have passed her by if she went back to her maiden name.
“The last name Kelly gets 20/20 to follow me, the last name Kelly gets me on CNN to talk about domestic violence awareness and be an advocate. The last name Kelly allowed me to go on military bases and talk about abuse…and here’s the real gag; Boo, if my name wasn’t Kelly you wouldn’t even care…’cuz Ms. Jones is going through the same thing I’m going through right now, Ms. White is going through it, Ms. Anderson is going through it, but ya’ll dont care about it, ya’ll not on her page commenting, you’re not trying to be an advocate, you’re being nosey. You know why? Because my last name is Kelly.”
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Check out the full Q&A below.
The singer and dancer were wed from 1996 until 2009. R. Kelly claimed in a psychiatric evaluation that the marriage ended because Drea wanted to continue her career as a dancer instead of becoming a housewife, which he claimed they discussed and agreed to before tying the knot. Drea, however, has cited Kelly’s abuse as the catalyst for their split.
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English (US) ·