R Kelly
Probably one of the most well-known cases of misconduct that has reached the media, garnering even international attention, found its resolution in September 2021. R Kelly has been indicted on nine counts of trafficking and racketeering.
Aged 54, he had been facing these multiple charges dating back decades and it took six witnesses to complain and testify, including the late singer Aaliyah. Even the government got involved, accusing Kelly’s team and his team of forming a “criminal enterprise”. Formed of bodyguards, managers, and several other employees they were allegedly part of Kelly’s scheme to attract women and underage girls to perform intimate scenes for videos or sold their intimate interactions for money across state lines.
R Kelly has also been accused of many other crimes including bribery, kidnapping, forced labor, infecting some of the accusers with STDs, and knowingly producing explicit videos involving children. His sentencing is set for May 4th, remaining in police custody until then.
Aziz Ansari
Back in 2018, the comedian had been accused in an online essay of pressuring an anonymous woman into undressing and other intimate relationships after a date. It is not surprising that the woman used the veil of anonymity to tell her story, as more often than we would like to see, victims are not believed in the online world.
Despite not saying anything at the time, he addressed the situation in his Netflix Special a year later in July 2019. He claimed to have been thinking a lot about the incident and that he has learned a lot from it, aiming to improve and become a better person.
Harvey Weinstein
You may remember how all the internet burst into flames in 2017, when the “Me Too” movement had been brought into the limelight, despite having been started back in 2015. At the center of it, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, accused by tens of women of improper misconduct, harassment, and being pressured into intimate scenarios.
Everything went downhill from there as the man had been sued and found guilty of the crimes he was accused of in February 2020. This is in part due to the extremely long trial that had seen six accusers come to the stand, giving graphic testimonies of what happened to them at the hands of Weinstein. While he narrowly escaped a life conviction, in March of the same year he was convicted of two criminal charges that brought him 11 to 23 years in a New York prison.
His legal battles haven’t stopped there though, as he was extradited a few months after he landed in prison to Los Angeles. There he pleaded not guilty to 11 indecent assault counts and one such charge, at the same time trying to appeal his New York conviction. The LA trials are yet to be finalized.
