Yamiche Alcindor:

One of the allegations chronicled in the documentary is what first brought the possible abuse to public attention, his marriage to Aaliyah, a music sensation in her own right in the mid-'90s.

In 1994, Kelly, then 27, married Aaliyah, who at the time was only 15. But, according to the documentary, on the wedding certificate, she was listed as 18.

In 1995, their marriage was annulled. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001. But accusations about Kelly have never gone away. In a pair of lawsuits in 1996 and in 2001, the R&B singer was accused of having sex with two underage girls, one 15, the other 17. Both settled out of court.

Then, in 2002, a video surfaced that appeared to show R. Kelly having sex with a different teenage girl and committing degrading acts. Kelly was indicted by a Chicago grand jury on 21 counts of child pornography. The trial was delayed. And, in 2008, Kelly was found not guilty on all counts after the victim in the video refused to testify.

Last year, there were more accusations that Kelly was trapping women in a sex cult, taking away their phones and limiting contact with their families. R. Kelly has denied all of the allegations in the documentary and in other investigations.

Last year, his representatives issued a statement that said, in part: "Black men and women have been lynched for having sex or for being accused of it. We will vigorously resist this attempted public lynching of a black man."