The 'I Believe I Can Fly' singer, who is awaiting trial on child pornography counts behind bars, is reported to be one of 63 inmates at his facility to be given both vaccine doses to date.
- March 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Disgraced R&B star R. Kelly has reportedly received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while behind bars.
The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer has been locked up in his native Chicago, Illinois since 2019, and is currently awaiting trial on child pornography counts, as well as separate racketeering and sex trafficking charges in New York.
His lawyers previously tried and failed to secure his release on bail due to coronavirus concerns in prison, but TMZ reports Kelly recently received his second shot of the COVID vaccine, and is now fully inoculated.
Kelly is one of 63 inmates at his facility to be given both vaccine doses to date, along with 128 staff members, according to officials at the Bureau of Prisons. The 47-year-old singer was reported to have gotten his first shot of vaccine sometime in January. It was not specified, however, which vaccine he was given.
The musician's Brooklyn, New York trial was recently postponed from April to August, while he will be back in Chicago in September to face the child pornography case. Judge Harry Leinenweber stressed during phone hearing in November 2020 that the new September 2021 trial date set was still subject to change.
Back in November 2020, Kelly was said to be struggling with mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "In terms of his mental well-being, I think he's suffering under these COVID conditions because they had an enormous outbreak (in prison) previously," his attorney Michael I. Leonard told Billboard. "It's not a good environment to be in."
