A 21-year-old woman whose family made sensational claims that she was being held against her will by R&B singer R. Kelly spoke out on Monday night to insist she is safe and well.

Jocelyn Savage came forward after watching her mother, father and sister hold a press conference earlier on Monday during which they claimed she was being held by Kelly at a home in Atlanta.

They said she was one of many young women who the 50-year-old singer had targeted in recent years and that they hadn't spoken to her for months.

Dismissing their claims that she had been 'brainwashed' by Kelly - who has been plagued by accusations of child sex abuse in the past - Savage told TMZ that she was 'in a happy place'.

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Jocelyn Savage, 21, came forward on Monday to say she was 'totally fine' despite her family's claims she was being held against her will by R. Kelly

'I'm 21, I'm about to be 22 in a few days and I just mainly want to say that I am in a happy place with my life and I'm not being brainwashed or anything like that.

'It just came to a point where it definitely has got out of hand. I'm totally fine. I'm happy where I'm at and everything is OK with me.'

Asked if she was being held involuntarily, she said: 'Oh no, nothing like that. I've never felt like a hostage or anything like that.'

Addressing her parents' concern, she said: 'I don't really know what's going on with that,' she said of their fears on Monday. 'I'm very heartbroken over what's going on with this situation because it's getting to a point where it's getting too much.

'It's just not right.'

Though she insisted she was 'fine', she refused to answer when asked if she was free to come and go from the house and did not address her relationship with R. Kelly.

She said she does receive texts from her parents but doesn't respond.

She also refused to answer when asked if she was still in Atlanta, Georgia.

Savage's parents took part in an interview with BuzzFeed on Monday which aired worrying allegations that Kelly had been holding a handful of young women in cult like conditions and effectively treating them as his sexual slaves for years.

Jocelyn was 17 when she met R. Kelly in 2015 backstage at one of his concerts. They grew close and her mother, Jonjelyn Savage, later accompanied her to spend time with him. Jonjelyn is seen (far right) with her daughter (far left) and another young woman spending time with the singer 'in the studio' in January 2016. Months later, Jocelyn went to live with Kelly, 50

Jocelyn's family said she began dressing differently and dropped out of college after meeting the star in 2015. They fear she is now 'brainwashed' by him but she says she is 'in a happy place'

Some former members of his entourage vouched for their concern. Three separate women said they were all forced to subscribe to his rules.

They said they were told when to eat, bathe, sleep and had to perform sexual acts on one another which the singer then recorded.

The singer (above in March) denies the family's accusation that he is running a cult-like house of sex slaves

Savage's mother recalled painstakingly how she was present when her daughter met the singer as an aspiring musician herself after being invited backstage to a concert in 2015.

It's not clear exactly when Jocelyn went to live with Kelly but her family say they have not seen her since December last year. 'It was as if she was brainwashed. [She] looked like a prisoner — it was horrible,' her mother said.

The mother-of-three boasted about meeting the star again in January 2016. On Facebook, she posed with Jocelyn and the star along with one other women, telling friends how they were 'in the studio'.

In her BuzzFeed interview, she said she thought it would be 'fine' for her daughter to spend time with the star if she was there to watch over her.

Jocelyn's father Timothy believes she is suffering Stockholm Syndrome, a condition which sees hostages grow to love their captors.

The family contacted police after their daughter fled to live with the singer and told officers how he was running a 'cult'.

Police visited the home where they said she was but it was empty. They then tracked her down in Chicago but she said she was fine and wanted to be left alone by her family.

Jocelyn's parents Jonjelyn and Timothy (left) are pleading for the star to 'release' their 21-year-old daughter

Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee - all former members of Kelly's entourage - described in detail the sort of treatment endured by young women who find themselves pulled into the singer's orbit.

A representative for Kelly spoke out on Monday afternoon about the claims, saying the singer 'unequivocally denies' them and said he will 'work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and to clear his name'.

Earlier, Mack, Jones, and McGee said there are at least six women living in properties rented by the R&B star in Chicago and Atlanta. The 'guest houses' where the women are kept are near his home in suburban Atlanta, and his apartment at Trump Tower in Chicago.

'You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom… [Kelly] is a master at mind control... He is a puppet master,' Mack, who worked as the singer's assistant, told the website.

The women, who said the 'babies' - as the girls are referred to - are required to call Kelly 'Daddy', then ran through a list of people they believe were living either at one of the performer's properties in Atlanta or his Chicago recording studio last summer.

The first woman mentioned in the article was a 31-year-old 'den mother', who is reportedly responsible for 'training newcomers on how Kelly liked to be pleasured sexually'.

The 'den mother' 'had been best friends since high school' with the person in a videotape that led to Kelly standing trial on child pornography charges in 2008.

The former entourage members said women were kept at properties rented by the R&B star in Chicago and Atlanta near his homes in the area. Pictured is the star's old home in Atlanta

Kelly, 50, was rumored to have been dating 19-year-old model Halle Calhoun. She has deleted her Instagram page since posting this photograph with the star in August last year

The other women his ex-entourage believe were in his properties last summer included: a 25-year-old woman who has known Kelly for seven years, a 26-year-old Atlanta songwriter who began her relationship with him when she was 19, a 19-year-old model, and 'his number one girl' - an 18-year-old aspiring pop star from Florida.

Mack said many of the young women are sucked in by the singer because they think: 'This is R. Kelly, I'm going to live a lavish lifestyle'.

In addition to the aforementioned control Kelly has, he allegedly demands the women ask his permission before leaving a room, are forced to wear jogging suits in public in order to keep their figures hidden, have their phones taken and are given new ones that are only allowed to be used to contact him or others approved by him, and have to deal with a 'burly' SUV driver parked outside his properties.

Both Mack and Jones said that if any of the women break the 'rules', Kelly 'punishes them physically and verbally'. Jones recounted a time she angered Kelly by 'being too friendly' with the male cashier.

'I got trapped. I had people telling me I was an idiot. But it took me a long time to realize they were right, and I'm talking now because I hope I can help some of these other girls,' said Jones.

McGee added: 'R. Kelly is the sweetest person you will ever want to meet. But Robert is the devil.'

R. Kelly is pictured leaving the Cook County courthouse in Chicago during his trial for child pornography charges in May 2007

Kelly married his R&B protege Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just 15 years old. The singer (pictured in 2001 and 2000) died in 2001 aged 22

The parents of another girl also came forward to say they are trying to get their daughter back. The family said their daughter moved in with the star after meeting him in April 2015 when she was 17.

He spotted her in the crowd at one of his concerts and the pair exchanged numbers.

R. Kelly has a controversial history with allegations of sexual misconduct. He is pictured in court in June 2002 after being arrested on child pornography charges

Shortly afterwards, she failed to return home from school. Later, she text her worried parents to say she was with the star at his hotel. They have lost communication with her since.

McGee said she once saw Kelly punish the girl by forcing her to stay on a tour bus for three days because she hadn't 'finished her homework'. The girl's family said they have since learned that he paid for her to undergo breast enhancement surgery.

Kelly has regularly denied any allegations about underage sexual encounters. The singer has been dogged by then since his child pornography charges, as well as him marrying fellow singer Aaliyah in 1994 when she was 15.

A lawyer who represents the singer said in response to the new allegations: 'We can only wonder why folks would persist in defaming a great artist who loves his fans, works 24/7, and takes care of all of the people in his life.'

Linda Mensch continued: 'He works hard to become the best person and artist he can be. It is interesting that stories and tales debunked many years ago turn up when his goal is to stop the violence; put down the guns; and embrace peace and love.

'I suppose that is the price of fame. Like all of us, Mr. Kelly deserves a personal life. Please respect that.'

A representative for Kelly said Monday afternoon: 'Mr. Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed by the recent revelations attributed to him. Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such accusations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name.'