R. Kelly knew good and well that his one-time protege (and future wife) Aaliyah was a 14-year-old child the same year he married her -- which debunks a claim put forth by his lawyer that the singer was oblivious to her being a minor.
An old video of a documentary about R. Kelly from 1994 has resurfaced online and in this section ... Kelly clearly acknowledges Aaliyah's age (apparently, 14 at the time this was shot) as she records a song in the studio, with him serving as producer.
In the YouTube clip, you hear Kelly say clear as day ... "Right now I'm producing a very talented lady -- a young lady. She's 14, Aaliyah. She's real street."
R. Kelly's lawyer is fighting back against sexual assault claims made in the docuseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly.' ABC News’ @LinseyDavis has the story https://t.co/biJSBLsPjb pic.twitter.com/PVKVTrt9KF
Kelly went on to marry Aaliyah that same year, which reportedly got annulled shortly after. Despite this evidence of Kelly clearly being aware of Aaliyah's age, the singer's new attorney, Steve Greenberg, insisted to ABC News last week that his client was unaware of her being 15.
He says she must've lied about her age to legally marry Kelly, and that Kelly had "no idea."
R. Kelly hasn't said much about his marriage to Aaliyah or her age, but he told GQ in 2016, "I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends."
Kelly and Aaliyah appeared together for a BET interview in 1994, where they denied they were in a romantic relationship ... and played coy about her age, calling it a "secret."
In light of this new video, Greenberg tells us ... he misspoke during the ABC interview, and probably shouldn't have put words in R. Kelly's mouth, as he says he never spoke to Kelly about Aaliyah specifically.
Greenberg also says ... "That was 20 years ago. I didn't know him 20 years ago, I didn't represent him 20 years ago. And, I wasn't invited to any wedding." That said, Greenberg insists that Kelly has told him that he has never "been with" with an underage girl.