R Kelly’s transgender teen speaks out

Published Jun 13, 2014

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Johannesburg - He famously penned the seedy epic Trapped in the Closet, complete with a gay pastor and a midget lothario, and it appears life is imitating art for R Kelly.

The RnB singer’s 14-year-old daughter Jaya has come out as a transgender and has changed his name to Jay.

According to the Daily Mail, Jay made the announcement via his social media pages over the weekend. He also revealed that his famous father hasn’t spoken to him since the revelation.

In an interview with Ask.fm, Jay explained that although he was born female, he has identified as a male since the age of “6 or 7”.

He also said that his mother, Andrea Kelly, the singer’s ex-wife and a star on the reality series Hollywood Exes. has known about his plight for a year and was supportive of his decision.

“My mom was like, ‘Baby, you know I love you if you were bi, gay, lesbian, you name it and I would still love you so much’,” he said.

“She was very proud of me, I was like, ‘Thank you mom for accepting the fact that I'm a transgender’.

“And same with my sister, she told me that she was proud of me, and respects me by calling me handsome and calling me her little brother now, and I love her for that, so you know it was great for me.”

Jay added that he was eager to undergo gender reassignment operations, but accepted that he would have to wait a few years because of his age.

“I believe I am a boy and want surgery, and the medication to help me (be) who I was supposed to be,” he wrote.

He also told Ask.fm: “(at the age of 11) “I would look up like boy changes to girl, and girl changes to boy, and im like wow, theres people who feel EXACTLY the way i feel and then i knew like thats what transgender is (sic)”.

Jay also gave an insight into his family life, claiming that while his elder brother is close to R Kelly, he and his sister aren’t.

“I absolutely love my mother... and yea my dad has not reached out (sic),” he wrote.

Jay’s mother Andrea, who was once R Kelly’s back-up dancer, divorced the star in 2009 after nearly 13 years of marriage. - Tonight Reporter

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