R. Kelly Should Have Been Careful

Since we last made an effort to recap the recaps of the R. Kelly trial, prosecution witness after prosecution witness has come to the stand to identify the alleged minor in the offending tape. A childhood friend, the mother of the childhood friend… outside of an odd exchange about whether someone’s age can be determined by looking at their genitals, there wasn’t much to report. But then it was Sparkle time!

First of all, it must be said that “Be Careful” is one of my favorite R&B tracks of the ’90s, and news of her impending appearance on the stand had me singing various parts of the song all day yesterday. Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards herself didn’t really disappoint, coming to the stand with facial glitter, large hoop earrings, and a bad attitude. Sparkle’s relationship with R. Kelly ended poorly–a familiar story!–and that possible bias was the emphasis of defense attorney Ed Genson’s cross examination. Sparkle resented the idea that she would accuse R. Kelly of child molestation out of revenge, calling Genson “sweetie” sarcastically at one point. Yelling ensued, and the judge had to simmer the whole thing down. That was as exciting as it all got, outside of a woman yelling “Free R. Kelly” at the jury before her inevitable arrest.

The jury has the day off today, while the defense makes an apparent attempt to charge Jim DeRogatis with possessing child pornography in the meantime. Enjoy your weekend, esteemed members of the jury!

Kelly witness, ‘Sparkle’ clashes with defense [Chicago Sun-Times]