Azriel Clary, a victim in the Surviving R. Kelly series, has been giving piece by piece to her story detailing what happened since her departure from R. Kelly and his girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage. In an interview with Claudia Jordan on Fox Soul, Clary discusses the backlash she receives regarding the situation.

“For me personally, it was quite disturbing. A majority of the backlash that I received was from the Black community and other influencers and celebrities,” she begins. “But more importantly, that’s kind of what made me feel like it is quite important that I share this because there are so many people that are just like me. Victims are not the ones that should be shamed. It should be the predator. It should be the abuser.

“It just shows that there is still a lot of hypocritical people and there are a lot of people that are just very ignorant to the situation,” Clary continued. “There’s really nothing that I can do for them, personally, but what I can do is help victims know that it is okay to tell how you feel. It is okay to open with the world regardless of the backlash that it comes with.”

Besides R. Kelly fans dismissing Clary’s comments, she still feels that her speaking out will help those who are able to relate. “I think that me speaking out will really help a lot of people because everyone has dealt with abuse, or know someone that has gone through some abuse in some way shape, or form,” she stated.

“Young girls in today’s society, we don’t have those role models to look up to we don’t have those people telling us what’s proper in a relationship and what’s not proper. Personally, I hope that I am an example,” Clary concluded.  

Big Ups to Azriel on her bravery and strength throughout the entire situation. Check out the full clip below.