Disgraced R&B Star Rushed to Duke University Hospital Amid Accusations of Deliberate Medication Overdose by Prison Staff

DURHAM, N.C. — R. Kelly, the convicted R&B singer serving a 30-year sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking, was rushed to Duke University Hospital on June 13, 2025, after collapsing in his cell at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina, following an alleged medication overdose. According to court documents filed by his legal team, the 58-year-old artist suffered a life-threatening incident that his attorneys claim was a deliberate act by prison staff as part of an assassination plot.

Kelly’s attorney, Beau B. Brindley, detailed in a filing obtained by multiple outlets, including USA TODAY and The Hollywood Reporter, that the singer was placed in solitary confinement on June 10. While in isolation, Kelly was given his usual anxiety medication but was also instructed by prison staff to take additional medication on June 12. The following morning, Kelly awoke feeling faint and dizzy, experiencing black spots in his vision before losing consciousness and collapsing in his cell. “He crawled to the door of the cell and lost consciousness,” the filing states, noting that prison medical staff later informed Kelly he had been administered an “overdose quantity” of medication that threatened his life.

The singer was hospitalized for two days, during which medical officials reportedly recommended surgery to address blood clots in his leg. However, Brindley alleges that within an hour of this recommendation, armed officers from FCI Butner forcibly removed Kelly from the hospital and returned him to solitary confinement, denying him the necessary procedure. “This was no mistake. It was a dose that jeopardized his life and nearly ended it,” Brindley wrote, accusing prison officials of intentionally administering a lethal amount of medication.

Kelly’s legal team has filed an emergency motion seeking his immediate release to home detention, citing ongoing threats to his safety. The motion builds on a prior filing from June 11, which alleged that prison officials had solicited a terminally ill inmate, Mikeal Glenn Stine, a purported member of the Aryan Brotherhood, to murder Kelly in exchange for leniency. Stine’s sworn declaration claimed that three high-ranking Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials orchestrated his transfer to Kelly’s unit in March 2025 to carry out the plot. Federal prosecutors have dismissed these claims as “fanciful” and “deeply unserious,” while the BOP declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

The overdose incident follows Kelly’s recent push for a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump, with his attorneys arguing that he is a target due to his intent to expose corruption within the prison system. “We believe that President Trump is the only person with the courage to help us,” Brindley told People magazine. A hearing regarding Kelly’s release is scheduled for June 20, 2025.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted in 2021 in Brooklyn federal court on charges including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act for sex trafficking. In 2022, he was found guilty in Chicago on three counts of producing child sexual abuse materials and three counts of enticing minors for sex, receiving a 20-year sentence, with 19 years to run concurrently with his 30-year term. The Grammy-winning artist’s legal troubles gained widespread attention during the #MeToo movement, amplified by the 2019 documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” which detailed decades of allegations against him.

The allegations of a murder plot and the overdose have sparked speculation online, with some posts on X suggesting a connection to other high-profile legal cases, though no evidence supports such claims. The Bureau of Prisons has reiterated its policy of not commenting on individual inmates’ medical conditions for privacy and security reasons.

As Kelly’s legal team presses for his safety and release, the incident raises serious questions about the conditions of his confinement and the oversight of federal prison facilities. The case continues to unfold, with Kelly’s attorneys vowing to pursue justice for what they describe as a grave breach of trust by prison authorities.