R. Kelly accuser says he sexually abused her, claims she has his DNA on shirt

"If I die tomorrow, I know that I told the truth"

R. Kelly’s former hairdresser has publicly accused him of sexual abuse for the first time – and claims she has his DNA on her shirt as proof.

Lanita Carter, 39, claims to have been assaulted 15 years ago aged 24 when she was Kelly’s hair-braider.

Speaking to CBS This Morning, Carter said: “I was sexually abused by him and I live after that. I try to pick up the pieces every day.

“It’s hard but I know I’ll get through it. I’m not ashamed of my past anymore.”

The New York Post reported that Carter claimed that she submitted her shirt for DNA testing and Cook County prosecutors told her it was a match to 52-year-old Kelly.

“I’ve been carrying this since 2003,” Carter continued in the CBS interview. “I have had to sit on a public bus and watch public conversation: ‘Did you hear about what they did with R. Kelly? They need to leave that man alone.’ And I can’t stand up for myself. I finally realised: I don’t wanna be this victim. I don’t wanna be a part of this.”

She added: “When I finally realised I don’t want to be this victim, I don’t want to be a part of this, every time I tried to pick myself up again, I felt like something on the news brought me back to what I thought I swept under the rug.

“Today I say: no more. You can talk about me. You can not like what I’m sayin’ about your favourite singer. But this is my life… This is my truth. This is what I have. If I die tomorrow, I know that I told the truth.”

R Kelly pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of sexual abuse last month, before being released from jail this month on $100,000 bail.

Claims of Kelly’s sexual activity with underage girls resurfaced amid the recent documentary series, Surviving R Kelly. Buzzfeed had previously reported in 2017 that Kelly ran a sex cult. He has constantly denied any wrongdoing.