R Kelly's Ex-Wife Confirms He Can't Read But Didn't Want His Kids To Know
R. Kelly's ex-wife Andrea "Drea" Kelly has revealed that the disgraced R&B singer's inability to read embarrassed him and caused tension between them when they were married.
During an appearance on the podcast "The Culture Club Uncensored," the choreographer and dancer, 50, addressed the convicted sex offender's recent claims that he can't read or understand any words beyond that of a "grade-schooler."
Drea confirmed that Kelly -- who was in his late 20s to early 30s when he married his ex-wife -- could not read even a children's book.
She said Kelly had told her he was molested as a child by a man and a woman, and she believes this may have led to his literacy issues.
Drea recalled an instance during their marriage when Kelly worried about their kids finding out their father couldn't read.
She said she was perusing a Dr. Seuss book that she was going to read to their children when Kelly seemingly panicked and left the room.
"He just transformed into this little boy right before my eyes, and I'm like, 'What's going on? Like, it's just -- we're just reading stories to the kids. What's going on?'" she explained.
According to Drea, Kelly confessed to her at the time that he didn't want their children to find out that he couldn't read.
"He said, 'Drea, I don't want to do that in front of them,' and I said, 'But why?'" she recalled of their conversation. "He was like, 'I can't read to them what's in that book. I don't want my kids to know I can't read.'"
Drea -- who was married to Kelly from 1996 to 2009 -- said she then began teaching her then-husband how to read using children's books.
"I said, 'But, Robert, what you have to understand is they can't read either. You are magical in here. Make up the story as you go. I'll help you sound it out,' and literally, I was teaching him to read through Dr. Seuss books," she recalled.
However, Drea said her attempts to teach Kelly how to read later caused some resentment in the singer.
She claimed he would "use" the fact that she could read while he couldn't against her during arguments, creating a "love-hate relationship" between them.
Back in 2019, Kelly scored a do-over in a civil sexual abuse lawsuit filed against him after his lawyers claimed he was illiterate and couldn't read the lawsuit documents.
In a court filing cited by the Chicago Sun-Times, Kelly's attorneys said the singer "suffers from a learning disability that adversely affects his ability to read."
Kelly repeated this claim earlier this year in court documents denying all accountability in a separate lawsuit filed against him, The Blast reported.
The singer -- who is currently serving time in prison -- claimed he did not remember receiving the lawsuit filed by women who accused him and Donnell Russell of attempting to stop a 2018 screening of the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries with a mass shooting threat.
Kelly also alleged that he only learned that a judge awarded the women $10.5 million through a friend.
But the musician claimed that he would not have been able to understand the legal documents even if he had received them.
"I rely on my lawyers to explain things to me because I cannot read or understand words beyond that of a grade-schooler," Kelly claimed.
The musician was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges based out of New York in 2021.
Last year, he was also convicted of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex.
Kelly has been sentenced to a total of 50 years in prison for the convictions.
