R. Kelly's Alleged 'Cult' Captive Denies Being Brainwashed: 'I'm Happy Where I'm At'

Jocelyn Savage, the woman at the center of the R. Kelly "abusive cult" scandal, denies that she's been brainwashed by the R&B singer.

On Monday morning, BuzzFeed News published an explosive report accusing R. Kelly of holding women hostage as part of an "abusive cult" in Chicago and Atlanta. Several concerned parents spoke with BuzzFeed News and claimed that their daughters had been brainwashed by Kelly and forced to be members of this controversial cult.

On Monday night, Kelly released a statement through his lawyer denying his alleged role in a cult. His lawyer said Kelly is "both alarmed and disturbed" by the BuzzFeed News report. She also said the R&B singer "unequivocally denies such accusations," and she revealed that Kelly plans to work to "clear his name" in the coming weeks.

A short time after that statement surfaced, one of the women at the center of the scandal also spoke out about the allegations made in the BuzzFeed News report. Jocelyn Savage, the 21-year-old daughter of a couple identified as "J" and "Tim" in the report, did a video interview with TMZ and denied being brainwashed by Kelly. She told TMZ she is "happy" with where she is in her life right now, even though she refused to tell TMZ where she is located at the moment.

"I just mainly want to say that I am in a happy place with my life," she said. "I’m not being brainwashed or anything like that. It just came to a point where it definitely has gotten out of hand. I just want everybody to know—my parents and everybody in the world—that I am totally fine. I’m happy where I’m at, and everything is okay with me."

Savage went on to say that she has "never been held hostage." She also seemed to place some of the blame for the allegations made in the BuzzFeed News story on her parents.

"I haven’t spoken to them in about five to six months, on and off," she said. "They’ll text me from time to time, but I haven’t really wanted to speak to them because of what they’re doing."

Savage’s parents held a press conference on Monday afternoon to double down on the allegations they made while speaking with BuzzFeed News. They continue to contend that their daughter has been brainwashed by Kelly and held captive.

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The "cult" story involving Kelly is just the latest in a long line of stories involving the singer and alleged sexual misconduct.

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