Is R. Kelly out of prison? No, that's not true. The photograph being used to show Robert Kelly, the R&B singer known as R. Kelly, is from 2019. He is still incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons database on June 7, 2021.
The claim appeared as a post (archived here) published on Facebook on June 2, 2021. It opened:
R Kelly out.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Jun 7 16:59:02 2021 UTC)
The photograph of Kelly is an Associated Press picture from 2019 with the caption:
Singer R. Kelly left, walks with his attorney Steve Greenberg right, after being released from Cook County Jail, March 9, 2019, in Chicago. Kelly was freed three days after a judge ordered him jailed until he paid the total amount of back child support that he owed. Kelly was freed Saturday, three days after a judge ordered him jailed until he paid the total amount of back child support that he owed. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)."
Kelly was arrested again on July 11, 2019, on 18 charges including child sexual exploitation, child pornography production, kidnapping, forced labor, racketeering, and obstruction of justice.
A search of the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by Lead Stories shows Robert Kelly, age 54, still incarcerated at Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago as of June 7, 2021, as he awaits trial.
His trial in Chicago is scheduled to take place in September 2021 but that date may be pushed back, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
