Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is asking a Chicago court to hold blogger Tasha K and the Federal Bureau of Prisons responsible for unlawfully accessing and disseminating his private records.
The 56-year-old convicted sex offender alleges that one officer in question accessed his personal information more than 150 times—including emails, phone calls, and guest visits—before sharing them with the controversial blogger, the Huffington Post reports.
Kelly claims that Tasha K, whose real name is Latasha Kebe, used the information for an episode of her celebrity gossip YouTube show, UnWineWithTashaK,
titled “R. Kelly Can’t CONTROL His Girlfriends While BEHIND BARS!” in which the blogger shared details of the singer’s personal calls, emails, and visitor logs.“Yeah, there’s a phone tap somewhere, and I’m not gonna tell you where it’s at,” she said in the video. “I have the plug. I’m not gonna tell you where I got the information from, but just listen to the damn information, OK?”
In a lawsuit filed with the
U.S. District Court in Chicago, the singer claims both Kebe and the officers involved violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. According to HuffPo, Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s attorney, said that the breach of trust had affected the singer, fans, and legal advisors.“He had every right to be able
to be confident, to think the BOP would protect his information and not exploit, but unfortunately, certain BOP officers did just that,” she said. “He does not feel comfortable to this day talking to anyone, even his own lawyers, because of the impact of this event.” Kelly is also claiming negligence, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, ABC 7 Chicago reports.Tasha K has been in legal trouble before for material and comments she shared via her YouTube channel. In 2022, rapper Cardi B successfully sued the blogger for defamation and was awarded $4 million in damages, for which she is still on the hook.
Kelly is appealing both a 20- and 30-year sentence
for child pornography, sex trafficking, racketeering, and enticing a minor in sexual activity. The convictions were handed down in Chicago and New York, respectively.RELATED CONTENT: Tinashe Claims Label Forced Her To Work With R. Kelly And Chris Brown, Now She Pretends ‘It Doesn’t Exist’