Famed singer R. Kelly had one of the biggest falls from grace in the history of Hollywood. The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer was once regarded as one of the top R&B singers in the world and earned millions from his certified platinum records.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Unfortunately, the heralded singer has faced unsettling allegations since the 1990s. These ultimately ruined his reputation and landed him a lengthy jail sentence.
In June 2022, the Chicago-born singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 30 years in prison.
After serving a few years behind bars, Kelly has formally made a Hail Mary request to Donald Trump to end his 30-year sentence.
Kelly's formal bid for clemency comes more than a year after his newly hired attorney, Beau Brindley, made a public plea to Trump to release the singer from prison immediately.
In a news conference outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in June 2025, Brindley admitted that he was targeting Trump. His team is actively "seeking talks with the White House" about Kelly's future.
"R. Kelly does not have the time, with his life in danger, to go through the normal channels," Brindley said. "I will ask President Trump to help us. Because we need him."
The request, which was first reported by the Chicago Tribune, remains pending.
Several Celebrities Have Called on Trump For Legal Help
Strangely, Kelly is not the first high-profile individual to call on Donald Trump for legal aid.
Famously, Kim Kardashian successfully lobbied for Trump to exonerate Alice Marie Johnson. Johnson was convicted of drug charges and spent more than two decades behind bars.
After Kardashian met with President Trump, he commuted Johnson's life sentence in 2018.
More recently, golf legend Tiger Woods was shown on police body cam footage calling the POTUS following his latest DUI incident.
Woods says he was on the phone with Trump when he was confronted by a police officer after crashing his car, according to
