Aaliyah's Mother Slams "Lies and Fabrications" of R. Kelly Sex Allegations

Aaliyah's mother Diane Haughton is speaking out amid allegations that the singer had a sexual relationship with R. Kelly when she was underage.

A former back-up performer named Jovante Cunningham alleges in the new Lifetime docu-series Surviving R. Kelly that she saw Aaliyah and the rapper having sex. At the time of the supposed encounter, R. Kelly was 27 and Aaliyah 15.

In the first episode, Cunningham described what she purportedly witnessed between the two while on tour. "We were out on the road with Aaliyah," she said. "On a tour bus, there really aren't many confined spaces. When you get on the bus there are bunks and so these bunks have little curtains you can pull at night if you don't want anybody to see you sleeping."

She explained that people on tour were "laughing" and at one moment, "The door flew open on the bus. Robert was having sex with Aaliyah.
" R. Kelly's real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly.

What she apparently saw amounted to "Things that an adult should not be doing with a child."

Haughton spoke out on Wednesday and called Cunningham a "liar."

"The woman and so-called back up singer that describes seeing, meeting or ever breathing the same air as my daughter, Aaliyah, is lying and is a liar," Haughton said in a statement to E! News. "My husband and I were always on tour with her and at interviews and every place she went throughout her entire career. Whoever this woman is, I have never seen her before anywhere on planet earth, until now."

Haughton then called Cunningham's claims "lies and fabrications" that "can not be tolerated and allowed to be spewed from the forked tongues of saboteurs of Aaliyah's legacy."

She continued, "My daughter only wanted to realize her dream of sharing her talent with the world, and give her all performing on stage and in front of the camera for the fans she adored so much. She realized that dream, thanks to those true fans who still love and support her legacy unconditionally to this day. Shame on all those involved in this project who thought it kosher to drag Aaliyah's name into a situation that has nothing to do with her today. Once again, this will not be tolerated." 

One of R. Kelly's former personal assistants Demetrius Smith claims in the Lifetime series that the "Ignition" rapper and Aaliyah got married when she was 15. Smith said he got "papers forged for them when Aaliyah was underage."

The "Try Again" singer died in 2001 after a plane crash in the Bahamas. She was 22.





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