The Infamous R. Kelly Survivor That Went Viral Before There Was Even Social Media Is Telling Her Story, ‘Who’s Watching Shorty?’

In the 90’s long before there was a such thing as social media and when you were buying bootleg VHS tapes at barber/beauty shops, a video went viral on the streets starting in Chicago then stretched across America of what appeared to be R. Kelly golden showering a young lady that appeared to be a minor.  As the video spread, the shop talk was whether that really was R. Kelly and more importantly was that really a minor.  Then like poof the story went away, while fans became engrossed with R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped In The Closet’ series.   Then over 20 years later the phenomenon ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ took over television and radio’s before landing the Pied Piper of R&B in jail.  The ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ docuseries though made many revisit what they watched on their VCR’s many years ago, wondering, did they really watch the original survivor?  What happened to the original allegedly 14 year old Jane Doe?  For the first time publicly the original Jane Doe is sharing her name as well as her story in a new memoir ‘Who’s Watching Shorty?’

The shorty’s name is Reshona Landfair an up and coming teenage rapper back in the 90’s and niece of the famously known, R&B singer in the 90’s ‘Sparkle’.  For the past 25 years, Reshona Landfair has lived with the painful aftermath of her name lingering in the public domain without her consent, going so far to shorten her name to “Chon” when meeting new acquaintances. As a teenager, she had her privacy ripped away when she was thrust into the national spotlight, not for her musical talents, but for the perversions of a man deemed a musical genius. Landfair became known as the 14-year-old girl in a sickening R. Kelly videotape, a documented encounter of child pornography filmed by the man she called her godfather.  Now 41, Reshona Landfair reveals how she went from a 14-year-old girl featured in the infamous tape to a woman determined to reclaim her name and narrative. 

Reshona Landfair in her no holds barred memoir, ‘Who’s Watching Shorty?’  , that is available now, describes how Robert Kelly groomed her as a child by inserting himself into her family’s life, giving gifts and positioning himself as a father figure. She alleges the manipulation and control went far deeper, saying he insisted she call him “Daddy” and that the experience left her feeling trapped and isolated.  Landfair says that R. Kelly “knowingly victimized me as a child” and that she became suicidal from the cycle of abuse, control, and shame sharing revelations that strip away decades of public speculation and rumor.

In a statement provided to Rolling Stone on behalf of R. Kelly, the singer’s attorney, Beau Brindley:

“Mr. Kelly wishes Ms. Landfair all the best in life.” “At a young age, Ms. Landfair was unfairly forced into the public eye against her will by people that were intent on destroying the reputation of R. Kelly. She did not deserve that,” Brindley adds. “Mr. Kelly has no negative comments to make about her. He hopes she finds success and peace.” 

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