A new statement from R&B singer Sparkle is adding another layer to the ongoing conversation surrounding the R. Kelly case — and her niece, Reshona Landfair’s, recently released memoir.
Sparkle, born Stephanie Edwards, shared a written message on Instagram addressing allegations that she played any role in facilitating Landfair’s relationship with Kelly.
The Chicago singer, who rose to fame in the late ’90s as Kelly’s protégé and collaborator on the hit “Be Careful,” pushed back directly on claims of “grooming.”
“I am relieved that Reshona is finally free to speak her truth and begin her healing journey,” Sparkle wrote at the start of the post. “In addition to justice, I have always wanted healing and peace for her.”
She then addressed the accusation head-on: “Any suggestion that I groomed, facilitated, or enabled harm to my niece is untrue and deeply painful, especially given my documented actions at the time and throughout.”
Sparkle outlined the steps she claims she took when concerns first surfaced. “When I was informed her parents were allowing Reshona to spend unchaperoned time with R. Kelly, I immediately contacted DCFS,” she said. “When the tape surfaced and the state brought charges against him in 2008, I cooperated fully and testified under oath, despite immense pressure not to do so.”
She added, “Protecting my niece from abuse and telling the truth mattered more to me than money and my career.”
Sparkle has long been connected to the case. In the early 2000s, she identified Landfair as the teenager seen in the now-infamous “pee tape” and later testified during Kelly’s 2008 trial. Kelly was acquitted in that case but was later convicted in federal trials in 2021 and 2022.
In those conversations, Landfair describes how Kelly entered her family’s life through industry connections and details the grooming, isolation, and control she says followed.
“There’s no job that I can apply for where this isn’t the forefront of my life,” Landfair said in a recent interview. “Once I realized that I didn’t have peace or privacy [by hiding], I had to take ownership.”
Sparkle closed her post by wishing her niece “continued healing and peace” and calling the memoir “the beginning of Reshona’s lengthy deprogramming journey.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault or abuse, confidential support is available. Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org for help.