I'm Not Trying To Get Any Money Sweetie: R Kelly Trial Update

R KELLY

A singer who once collaborated with R Kelly, and was signed to his label, has said she has no doubt that it is the R&B star in that much previously reported sex tape.

Stephanie 'Sparkle' Edwards gave evidence last week as the prosecution continued to present its case at the high profile R Kelly trial. He, as you'll remember, is accused of filming himself having sex with an underage girl. The tape at the heart of the case was played to the jury on day one, but it is not especially easy to identify the people in it. The prosecution claim the man is Kelly, and also that they know the identity of the girl too, and that she could have been as young as 13 when the video was made between 1998 and 2000. Kelly's people deny it is him in the recording, and also dispute the prosecution's claims regarding the identity of the victim - partly because the girl herself denies it is her in the tape.

Edwards claims she first saw the video in late 2001 after being contacted by a Chicago lawyer called Buddy Meyers. She says she recognised both Kelly and her young relative instantly - adding "You know your blood. There's no denying it". She said that as soon as she saw the tape she arranged for the girl's direct family to meet with Meyers, but said that the girl's parents, while initially agreeing to a meeting, suddenly got a change of heart. She told the court: "That same night Buddy wanted the family to see the tape. They were on the way, but communication stopped and they did not want to see the tape". I'm assuming there's some kind of implication there that someone got to the family before the meeting could take place.

Cross examining Edwards, Kelly's defence were keen to show that the singer had a vendetta against their client, and that she was making claims in relation to the video in a bid to tarnish his name, and possibly for financial gain. They suggested Edwards was angry that she had been dropped from Kelly's label, and alleged that at the time the video first surfaced she had been in conversation with Barry Hankerson, Kelly's former manager with whom he parted company somewhat acrimoniously. Edwards and Hankerson together had reason to hurt Kelly, they said. But Edwards denied she had any vendetta to pursue in 2001, telling the court "he [Kelly] was still my homeboy [then]".

On the allegations that Edwards may be motivated by financial gain, Kelly's legal team asked Edwards why she arranged a family meeting with Meyers after seeing the tape, rather than going to the police. Asking Edwards "you know that Buddy is a personal injury lawyer, he sues people?", lawyer Ed Genson suggested Edwards was motivated by the possibility of gaining financially from any legal action taken in relation to the the video, possibly to repay royalties she believed she was owed by Kelly in relation to their collaborations. An increasingly tetchy Edwards responded: "Sweetie, I am not trying to get any money. It is Robert and [the girl] on the tape".