Kayce T. Ataiyero, Chicago Tribune
- The debate simmered outside R. Kelly’s child pornography trial last week. Fans fiercely defended the popular R&B singer, while a handful of detractors railed at him and fumed at the supporters.
Their opposing views of Kelly—as either a star wrongly accused or a sex criminal—mirrored a debate that has resurfaced in the black community, where Kelly’s fame, the grave nature of the charges against him, and larger questions about celebrity, sex and race have put some onlookers at odds before the evidence is even heard.
