After years of delays, R. Kelly’s trial is finally happening, and before it officially gets underway next week, the anonymous jury that will eventually decide the disgraced entertainer‘s fate has officially been selected. According to Billboard, an anonymous jury made up of seven men and five women were sworn in on Wednesday, and come next week, R. Kelly will have to face them in his high-profile New York City sex trafficking case.
The twelve jurors were the final selections made after three days of a rigorous screening that was overseen by U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in federal court in Brooklyn.
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The main concern during the three-day screening was reportedly deciding which prospective jurors could be impartial to R. Kelly’s musical celebrity and infamy. Some were reportedly familiar with the singer’s work on a surface level, citing “I Believe I Can Fly” as the song they’re most familiar with, and several others swore that they knew little to nothing about his long-publicized case. According to Billboard, the jury selection was streamed in an overflow courtroom due to the judge’s unusual decision to prohibit the press and public from watching the trial in person due to COVID-19 concerns.
Opening statements and testimonies in R. Kelly’s New York City sex trafficking trial will begin next week on August 18, so stay tuned for more updates on R. Kelly’s high-profile case.
[via]