Did R. Kelly escape from prison in February 2026? No, that's not true: The account that made the claim is clearly labeled a "parody account." Robert Kelly was incarcerated at FCI Butner Medium in North Carolina, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, as of publication date.
The claim appeared in a February 10, 2026, post on X account @DailyNoud (archived here). It opened:
R. Kelly has escaped from prison.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/DailyNoud.)
The account @DailyNoud is clearly labeled as a "parody account" as the screenshot above shows. The bio says it is not real, stating, "PARODY Hip-Hop News | Follow For Viral Content | These are fake stories," as this screenshot shows:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of x.com/DailyNoud.)
Kelly was convicted of federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering and sentenced to 30 years in prison in June 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security website (archived here). Lead Stories checked the Federal Bureau of Prisons website and Kelly was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium in North Carolina as of Feb. 11, 2026, according to the bureau's records:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of Federal Bureau of Prisons website.)
Had Kelly escaped from prison, it would have been major news. Searches of Google News and Yahoo! News (archived here) returned articles debunking the claim but did not find any legitimate reports that Kelly had escaped.
Other fact checks
This claim was also investigated by USA Today and PolitiFact.
