There have been a series of sexual abuse allegations levelled against R & B music legend, R.Kelly. One of his most vocal critics and accusers over the years, has been his ex wife, Drea Kelly, who interestingly, still has his last name despite saying countless times, that being married to him was a horrible experience which almost led to her committing suicide.
One would think that in order to move on from said horrible experience, baby girl would want to get rid of that last name and start fresh on a clean slate.
In a recent interview with Rick and Sasha, Drea tries to justify her reasons for still choosing to keep Robert’s last name.
When asked why she hasn’t dropped the last name Kelly, Drea said: “Well, when people say association, that’s, like, a club or fraternity or whatever. I paid for my name in blood, sweat and tears. Literally. Nobody knows what it was like to be Drea Kelly. Drea Kelly is strong. Drea Kelly is a survivor. Drea Kelly made it away from Robert Kelly. That is my badge. I will not and I know people wanna think, ‘Oh, well, if the abuse is so bad, why keep the name?’ The name didn’t abuse me. Robert did.”
She also mentioned that if she had a commonplace last name, she probably would not be being interviewed by them on the radio right now.
In case you didn’t know, Drea has been part of a cast for reality show, Hollywood Exes, and has been featured on various daytime talk shows, in which she constantly recounts the abuse she endured, and her desire to help women who are going through domestic violence get the help they need.
According to Bustle, she once told hosts of The View:
“…that she had decided to start speaking out about the alleged abuse after seeing another woman on TV describe troubling incidents she says were similar to ones she experienced herself. “You cannot not speak when someone’s life and what they’ve been through is parallel to yours,” Kelly, who also goes by “Drea,” said in the same interview.
I wanted to bring validity to these women’s stories… So much of it falls on deaf ears and no one believes them… I was like, ‘If no one else is going to speak up for her, if no one else is going to believe her, at least she knows that I do.’”
While many have lauded her for raising awareness about domestic violence, others criticize her for choosing to keep her ex husband’s last name, insinuating that she is using that avenue as an opportunity to gain fame and profit from it.
What do you think?
Photo Credit: Surviving R.Kelly
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