The 'I Believe I Can Fly' singer claims he had expressed his fears about his safety to prison guards prior to the attack by a fellow inmate, but they ignored his concerns.

• Sep 9, 2020

AceShowbiz - R. Kelly is now blaming prison guards for the attack on him by a gang member. The disgraced singer accuses guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Center of inciting the attack by telling other inmates they had to go on lockdown because of a Kelly protest outside the prison.

Attorneys for the R&B star, Steven Greenberg and Nicole Blank Becker, tell TMZ that Kelly had been expressing his fears about him being in danger before the attack, but he was ignored. The 53-year-old reportedly overheard his alleged attacker outside his cell talking on a phone and saying things indicating he might attack the singer, three weeks before the incident took place.

The next day when he had to ride in the same elevator with the said inmate, Kelly told a prison guard that he didn't trust him, but the guard told him they had to ride together anyway. The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer claims he also told at least two other guards he feared for his safety in the 2-3 weeks leading up this his attack, but none of them took his concerns seriously.

He also confided to a doctor in the prison that he wished guards would stop telling everyone he's the reason for lockdowns because the other inmates were getting mad.

Kelly was attacked by a fellow inmate, who was later identified as Jeremiah Shane Farmer, on August 26. A prison employee said in a report that Farmer appeared to be on top of Kelly, "punching inmate Kelly repeatedly in the head and torso." A prison employee had to use pepper spray to end the alleged assault. Kelly was then moved to solitary confinement.

In a handwritten filing to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals submitted earlier this month, Farmer claimed "the government made" him attack Kelly. "Farmer, with nowhere else to turn for legal help, was forced to assault hip-hop R&B singer Robert Kelly in hopes of getting spotlight attention and world news notice to shed the light on the government corruption," he wrote.

The Latin Kings gang member, who has a murder record, went on claiming, "Due to the most blatant government corruption in Farmer's case, and being in lockdown for R. Kelly protest, I physically beat Mr. Kelly in an attempt to shed media spotlight on Farmer's case to prove government corruption and helping Farmer's innocence to prevail."

Kelly's team blasted the prison guards on the same day his latest appeal to be released on bail was denied by an appeals court. On Tuesday, September 8, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals turned down his request, citing prosecutors' "clear and convincing evidence" that Kelly presents a potential danger to the community and he is a flight risk.