“I’m not the victim that the government has portrayed me to be,” Savage wrote in a letter to the federal judge ahead of her alleged fiancé’s sentencing.
Even from behind bars, “Ignition” singer R. Kelly is continuing to cause a stir in the media. Earlier today (July 11) it was revealed that the disgraced R&B legend reportedly got engaged to one of his victims, Joycelyn Savage, ahead of his recent sentencing.
“My relationship with Robert is amazing. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. We have a very special connection and are deeply in love,” the 26-year-old wrote to the judge hoping to get some leniency for Kelly, who she also described as her “fiancé.”
“I still support Robert to this day because I love him and will always be here to support him,” Savage told the judge. “The Robert I know is very sweet, gentle, and kind. At the end of the day, he has always made sure that I’m taken care of and any other women he was with, as well.”
Despite the woman’s claims of engagement, though, the latest update from TMZ reveals that her family was never made aware of any such thing.
Family attorney Gerald Griggs told the outlet that “she never made the engagement known to the family, and they’ve never even spoken about the possibility beforehand.”
Griggs also mentioned that he finds it odd that Savage opted out of testifying under oath, instead choosing to slip it into a letter submitted to the court.
The Savage family “strongly doubts” that Kelly and their daughter have such a relationship, and they have hopes of reconnecting with her to get the full story, though they did admit that it wouldn’t be unusual of her to not have told them about getting engaged.
According to the lawyer, Joycelyn “hasn’t really spoken” to her parents since she left to be with the convicted sex offender.
Did Joycelyn Savage go back to her family?
Robert Kelly has been in federal custody since July of 2019, following the heinous allegations revealed in the docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly. At the time, it was reported that Kelly had two live-in girlfriends, Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage—both of whom hadn’t seen or been in direct contact with their families for years.
Clary agreed to cooperate with authorities investigating Kelly and as of January 2020, she returned home with her family. However, Savage (according to her parents) may still be under his control.
Jonjelyn and Timothy Savage spoke with TMZ and revealed that they tried to contact Joycelyn when her grandfather passed away but had to do so through Robert Sylvester [Kelly’s] camp.
“No response whatsoever. It’s time up for that,” said her father. “Everybody wanna say she’s grown? Let me hear from a grown woman. I wanna hear from my daughter.”
Her mother chimed in, adding, “Joycelyn, we need to hear from you directly. We always heard through third-party information and we aren’t able to hear from her directly without—what I call—’ prison calls,’ where the calls are scripted and known to be scripted.” Jonjelyn also asked to have a “one-on-one call as a family.”
“Listen, Robert is locked up,” said Timothy Savage at the end of the video. “All these enablers need to move aside. Joycelyn, I need to see you at that funeral. Just that simple.”
A week prior to Clary’s return home, footage surfaced of a physical altercation at Kelly’s Chicago residence in Trump Towers involving both Savage and Clary.
Clary explained in an Instagram Live that “[Joycelyn] just came to get [Kelly’s] awards, and his Grammys and stuff, and after that, she starts saying that I’m so wrong and this and that. And I told her, ‘Joycelyn you’re going to jail. You slept with a minor, that minor was me. You did it multiple times, over and over again.’”
Clary, then, stated that was when Savage began “attacking” her. Yet, Savage told PEOPLE, “[Azriel] has been trying to sabotage me ever since the start of it all. It’s just gotten worse since we’ve moved in together at the Trump Tower. She’s so immature, she knew I was packing my stuff to leave so she decides to go on Instagram Live to cause a scene.”
