Lifetime Greenlights New Documentary Series and Feature Movie, Telling the Stories of Women Who Have Fallen Under the Toxic Spell of R&B Singer R. Kelly

As the world has increasingly become more intolerant of predatory behavior, Lifetime re-launches its Emmy Award-winning public affairs campaign, STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, with key programs to bring awareness of abusive behaviors that need to be put to an end. Partnering with advocacy groups and influential thought leaders, Lifetime will provide a platform to give women a voice where they have previously been unheard. Under the initiative, the first of these projects seeks to shed a light on controversial R&B star R. Kelly, whose history of alleged abuse of underage African American girls has until recently, been largely ignored by mainstream media. Now with the Women of Color of the #TimesUp Movement joining in on the online campaign to #MuteRKelly as a call to action to corporations to cut ties with the musician, brave women are finally coming out to share their stories. In a ground-breaking, bombshell documentary series and untitled feature movie, women are emerging from the shadows and uniting their voices to share their stories. Cultural critic, filmmaker and passionate activist dream hampton executive produces the series. Golden Globe nominee and Emmy Award winner Ilene Kahn Power (Gia, Who Killed Clark Rockefeller) serves as an executive producer on the movie.

"What we've seen - in the last year in particular - is the tremendous power of women's voices when given the opportunity to share their truth," said Brie Miranda Bryant, SVP, Unscripted Development and Programming, Lifetime. "But there are important stories still untold, stories of bravery, resilience and DEFIANCE that demand to be heard. This is one of those stories."

"Lifetime has always been an incredible platform not only for storytelling, but also a catalyst to inspire action and change," said Tanya Lopez, EVP Movies, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions, Lifetime. "Now more than ever, we have the responsibility to make sure women are heard and supported."

"We've been working for over a year to bring forth the stories of these women," said Joel Karsberg, Executive Producer and CEO of Kreativ Inc. "We are proud to team with Lifetime to shed light on these stories as well as an industry that has looked the other way for so many years."

"Some very brave black women have trusted us with their stories, their truth and their trauma," said documentary series executive producer dream hampton. "They are survivors and I'm honored to share their stories with the world."

The documentary series is a captivating investigation into the controversial superstar, R. Kelly. Celebrated as one of the greatest R&B singers of all time, his genre defining career and playboy lifestyle has been riddled with rumors of abuse, predatory behavior, and pedophilia. Despite damning evidence and multiple witnesses, to date, none of these accusations have seemingly affected him. For the first time ever, survivors and people from R. Kelly's inner circle, are coming forward with new allegations about his sexual, mental, and physical abuse. They are now finally ready to share their full story and shed light on the secret life the public has never seen. The movie will lift the veil on the secretive inner world of R. Kelly, bringing to light the shocking allegations of abuse and twisted mind games.

The untitled documentary series and movie are executive produced by Joel Karsberg and Jesse Daniels of Kreativ Inc., which, as part of their production deal, is backed exclusively by Bunim/Murray Productions (BMP). dream hampton is an executive producer on the documentary series, along with Brie Miranda Bryant from Lifetime. Ilene Kahn Power serves as an executive producer on the movie and Barbara Marshall is the writer of the script.

In 2002, Lifetime launched the STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Public Affairs Campaign, bringing together leading advocacy organizations, women directly affected by violence and political leaders for a Special Congressional Women's Caucus Briefing in Washington DC, and placed a national spotlight on ending violence with on-air, online and in the halls of power, the vast problems of domestic violence and sexual assault. Now, 16 years later, Lifetime will once again bring the issue to the forefront as time's up on predatory behavior and provide women a platform to share their stories, especially for women of color. Lifetime is partnering with organizations to spread awareness, empower women, provide healing tools and support for women in need of assistance. The initiative will also include educational resources and outreach to young women in high schools and colleges nationwide so young women have tools to discuss and address the ways these issues affect their lives.

For more than 30 years, Lifetime has led one of the longest standing and most comprehensive public affairs efforts of any cable network in the United States, educating and empowering hundreds of millions of people each year. In addressing critical social issues affecting the lives of women and girls, Lifetime develops, creates and launches multi-year advocacy campaigns that involve public service announcements, legislative advocacy and partnerships with hundreds of non-profit organizations, women leaders, public officials and key members of the media to reach women on-air, online and in communities across the country. As a result, Lifetime has remained the most trusted and most empowering network among women.

ABOUT KREATIV INC.

Kreativ Inc. is an innovative content production company specializing in bridging the international and U.S. markets. The company was founded by Joel Karsberg in 2017. Joel had formerly been the CEO of Zodiak USA. Kreativ Inc. was formed in partnership with Banijay's award-wining Bunim/Murray Productions in the United States. Kreativ Inc.'s series include The Selection on History and Undressed on MTV. The ongoing missions is simple: produce bold and creative concepts from origination through production for broadcast, cable and digital platforms.

ABOUT LIFETIME

Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. The critically acclaimed UnREAL, Project Runway, Bring It!, Married at First Sight, THE RAP GAME and Little Women franchises anchor the network's programming, in addition to its over 25 original movies annually that continue to define the TV movie genre. In 2015, Lifetime launched Broad Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers to make its content which totals over 450 original hours. Lifetime Television(R), LMN(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.

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