R. Kelly’s legal and medical troubles just took a disturbing turn behind bars. The disgraced R&B singer, currently serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering, was rushed to Duke University Hospital on June 13 after allegedly overdosing on medication while in solitary confinement at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina.
According to newly filed court documents obtained by Page Six, Kelly, 58, had been placed in solitary confinement “against his will” days earlier with several medications in his possession—medications for anxiety, sleep, and other ongoing health issues. His attorney, Beau B. Brindley, claims prison staff later gave him additional doses and directed him to take them, a moment he insists was captured on surveillance footage.
By the next morning, Kelly reportedly collapsed in his cell, experiencing dizziness, vision loss, and ultimately losing consciousness before being found on the floor and rushed to the hospital. His lawyer says medical staff at the prison facility were unable to help him and described the incident as life-threatening, noting Kelly was treated at Duke for two days after being “administered an overdose quantity of his medications.”
One prison officer allegedly said during the ambulance ride, “This is going to open a whole new can of worms.”
Kelly’s attorney isn’t stopping there. Brindley alleges that this incident occurred shortly after Kelly filed a motion exposing what he calls a “plot to kill him” by the Bureau of Prisons. He also claims prison staff removed Kelly from blood-thinner medication and have denied him surgery for dangerous blood clots in his legs and lungs. He’s now calling for the singer’s temporary release into home confinement for his safety.
The U.S. government isn’t buying it. In response, prosecutors argue this is yet another manipulative tactic from a man they call “an abuser and a master manipulator.” They maintain Kelly continues to portray himself as the victim despite being convicted of horrific crimes involving women and minors.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced in 2022 to 30 years in prison following his conviction on nine federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. His fall from grace has been one of the most public and controversial in modern music history—and with this latest incident, the saga continues.
