Photographs taken inside R. Kelly's illegal live-in studio in Chicago where he is accused of keeping women against their will have bee...
Photographs taken inside R. Kelly's illegal live-in studio in Chicago where he is accused of keeping women against their will have been released and reveal the bizarre environment inside.
The property is an old warehouse and photography studio which has been modified by Kelly and his team on its second floor to include living quarters.
He has been paying more than $20,000 a month for the last several years to keep the property but risks being thrown out entirely after a judge this week ruled that it was illegal for him to have modified the building into a living premises.
The property is currently for sale for $3,999,999.
The list of violations Kelly was given by the Cook County Department of Buildings details how he has turned it from a business premises into a building which 'now consists of a recording studio with bathrooms, sauna room, steam room, bath tubs, kitchen area, bar area, recording rooms, bedroom and multiple heating plant rooms.'
Photographs show curtains that have been shoddily hung against the building's internal timber frame , a massage table next to a keyboard and exposed wires and lighting.
Before and after: On the left, the upper level in 2015 and right, with the inclusion now of the bedrooms that are walled off with curtains
In one of the photographs taken during a raid of the property is this one which shows a massage table next to a keyboard in one of the rooms
It was deemed dangerous and hazardous by the buildings department. Both parties must return to court on February 7 to detail the changes but in the mean time, o one is supposed to be in the building past 5pm and under no circumstances is anyone allowed to live there.
Despite the judge's ruling, CBS Chicago reports that people were coming and going at 9pm on Tuesday, hours after the judge handed down their order.
Among them was a woman who appeared to have gone to get food and was returning.
Another was Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg.
He said he was 'just going to see what was going on' and 'was not the real estate guy'.
Kelly's estate lawyer is Melvin Sims.
He said on Tuesday that the situation was a 'manufactured emergency', that there was no real danger and that the judge had not thrown them out.
A bathroom in the studio which had a tray stacked with body lotion and oil. It was one of several bathrooms authorities say are not allowed
Exposed lighting and shoddily hung curtains were also listed by the buildings department as hazards
Among items the judge ordered removed was a large Christmas tree
Dangerous exposed beams above are shown. Kelly has to make the required changes or get out
Stairs which lead down to a lower level in the building. It was never cleared for residential use
Before: These images, taken in 2015, show how much the second floor of the building has changed
The space was previously open and unobstructed with none of the wall dividing curtains now in place
The downstairs area before it was renovated illegally by Kelly and his team
Downstairs in the recording area of the building is a couch area, kitchen and dining table
An office shown above in a promotional brochure for the building which is for sale for just under $4million
A kitchen area inside the building in 2015 showing what appears to be a downstairs kitchen area
The exterior of the studio is shown recently as city inspectors prepared to enter it
It has been the site of protests since allegations against the singer mounted
On Tuesday night, hours after a judge ruled that no one was allowed into the property after 5pm, people including Kelly's lawyer were seen showing up
Kelly. shown above last year, has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing
'We do feel like this was a manufactured emergency. There was no emergency here all along, and it seems the judge has sided with us,' he said.
In her order on Tuesday, Judge Patrice Ball Reed said: 'It looks like people are living there, and that’s not good.
'It’s a recording studio. It shouldn’t be a party place.'
Another item she contested was a Christmas tree.
'Christmas is over. This tree needs to go,' she said, according to The Chicago Tribune which attended Tuesday's proceedings.
The studio is the scene of a distressing moment at the end of the ubiquitous Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly where the parents of a young woman who lives with the rapper throw stones on the windows to try to contact her.
It has also been the site of multiple protests since accusations of sexual trafficking mounted against the disgraced star.
Kelly has always maintained that he has done no wrong.
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