Lyric Cabral to Direct R. Kelly Documentary

By Sameer Rao May 24, 2018

Documentarian and photojournalist Lyric Cabral took audiences inside the FBI’s surveillance of marginalized communities with her feature directorial debut, "T(error)." Now she turns her investigative skills to the story behind R. Kelly and the many accusations of sexual violence he faces, including assault, child pornography and false imprisonment.

Deadline reports today (May 24) that Cabral will direct a still-untitled feature documentary on the singer’s alleged crimes against Black girls and women, which date back to at least the 1990s. BuzzFeed News, whose recent reporting on Kelly led to rejuvenated calls for accountability, is producing the film in conjunction with streaming service Hulu. BuzzFeed News’ Shani Hilton and Linzee Troubh developed the project.

Deadline adds that the documentary draws from reporting by BuzzFeed News contributor Jim DeRogatis, who broke the first stories about Kelly’s alleged sex crimes while working for the Chicago Sun-Times. Hilton tweeted today that the film also features interviews with several women who survived Kelly’s abuse, as well as new original reporting from DeRogatis.