Kim Kardashian is here once more to leap in front of Kanye West's incoming PR crisis. This time, the controversy involves R. Kelly, the embattled musician who is back in the press because of the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly.
Complex reports that West offered what appears to be a half-hearted defence of Kelly during an event Sunday morning. In a video from the event that has since been deleted from Instagram, West could be heard in the background offering this screed:
"They just gon’ pull up full documentaries on ’em and then they gon’ come with the Michael documentary. We can all enjoy all their music all we want. I thought I wasn't going to go there today. If we're gonna tear down artists, let's go ahead and take [Leonardo] da Vinci out the Lourve."
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West added, "Let's take down all the art."
West appears to be discussing R. Kelly and Michael Jackson in tandem, both of whom are the subject of 2019 documentaries. Surviving R. Kelly, which aired last weekend, is a detailed and harrowing account of R. Kelly's alleged sexual abuse over the years. Jackson will be the subject of Leaving Neverland, an HBO documentary about the accusations the singer faced in the '00s. Leaving Neverland, which the Michael Jackson estate has already condemned, premieres at Sundance this January and on HBO later this spring.
Kardashian, never one to sit idly by, stepped up to defend her husband, writing, "I’m going to nip this in the bud right now. Kanye was speaking about his own experience of everyone quick to say they are cancelling him because of differences in opinion & not being perfect. The analogies were in context to his own experiences, not defending anyone else."
Later, she clarified: "I want to make it very clear, he is not condoning anyone’s actions or unacceptable disgusting behavior. My husband’s words are being taken out of context due to timing."
The "timing" here appears to be a reference to the R. Kelly documentary, which is making headlines just about every day now. West didn't specifically name R. Kelly in his speech, so Kardashian appears to be arguing that he wasn't referencing Surviving R. Kelly but instead Leaving Neverland, a documentary that has not yet debuted.
I’m going to nip this in the bud right now. Kanye was speaking about his own experience of everyone quick to say they are cancelling him because of differences in opinion & not being perfect. The analogies were in context to his own experiences, not defending anyone else.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 14, 2019
I want to make it very clear, he is not condoning anyone’s actions or unacceptable disgusting behavior. My husband’s words are being taken out of context due to timing.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 14, 2019