Entertainment

R. Kelly Scared Out of His Mind in Prison, Breaks Down Crying to Lawyer

Published on June 19, 2025
By Cromwell

R. Kelly is scared out of his mind and desperately begging to be let out of prison, according to members of his legal team — who say the singer broke down in tears during a recent phone call, as he fears for his life, and his health spirals behind bars … TMZ has learned.

Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly’s attorneys, tells TMZ … the 57-year-old is petrified to find himself back in prison after he was released from the hospital, and he’s fretting about his health and safety. Kelly is currently locked up in the Special Housing Unit in a North Carolina prison.

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“He’s emotional, and he cried intermittently on the phone call” on Monday, Becker tells us, adding, “Again, out of fear for his life.”

As we reported … Kelly was recently rushed to a local North Carolina hospital after overdosing on medication administered to him while he was in prison custody. During that visit, doctors allegedly told him he’d need surgery and would remain hospitalized for roughly two weeks. But things took a dramatic turn.

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“The next thing he knows, he is whisked out of the hospital, back in the SHU, never to see the doctor again,” Becker tells TMZ. The longtime Kelly lawyer says, “whether you like R. Kelly or not, what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong — he’s a human being who needs medical attention immediately.”

Kelly’s legal team filed a request for him to be moved to home confinement. Becker tells us Kelly had no issues at the Butner, North Carolina prison prior to the alleged murder plot involving another inmate there … Becker says that’s in contrast to problems Kelly faced during his time locked up in Chicago and New York.

Meanwhile, another of Kelly’s attorneys, Beau Brindley tells TMZ … the singer’s health continues to deteriorate behind bars. “Robert is suffering. He’s still not getting his blood thinners. He’s receiving no treatment for blood clots whatsoever despite being diagnosed in the hospital.”

Brindley adds his team just received a signed HIPAA waiver and he’s actively working to obtain Kelly’s full medical records from Duke Hospital to bolster their efforts in court.

Kelly is currently serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering convictions.