Wendy Williams defended R. Kelly amid calls to boycott his music on radio following sexual abuse and kidnapping allegations.
On Monday's episode of "The Wendy Williams Show," the daytime talk show maven explained her decision to invite the musical genius on her show.
“I’m not going to even belabor the point,” Williams said after polling the audience about Kelly. “I know things about R. Kelly that I will take to my grave — unless he tells them.
“And also, Robert, it’s long been said and he actually did admit this to me, I was shocked he was actually admitting this -- because he can’t read, he can’t write and he can’t add,” she said.
“I won’t tell you about how he maneuvers through the world," Wendy added.
In a 2009 interview with Chicago's NBC 5, Kelly shared how being illiterate shaped his world.
“I don’t even read really and I’m not afraid to say that,” he said. “My cousins and brothers used to tease me, ‘You can’t even read right. How you think you’re going to come up?’ The only reason I graduated from grammar school is because I had a great jump shot."
The illiteracy rate is climbing among black youth and adults. 75% of black boys can't read or write on the same level as their peers in other races and ethnicities.
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