Christina Aguilera praises Lady Gaga after she removes R.Kelly duet 'Do What U Want' from streaming services.
Christina Aguilera
Lady Gaga revealed this week she would be taking down the 2013 track from "all streaming services" following the accusations of sexual assault made by a host of women against Kelly in new Lifetime documentary series 'Surviving R. Kelly'.
And now 38-year-old Christina - who recorded a special duet version of the song with Gaga, which they performed together on 'The Voice' in 2013 - has spoken out in defence of their version of the song, praising it for showing "women sticking together".
Posting several images of the performance on Twitter, the 'Liberation' singer wrote: "This is a reminder of women sticking together-- and not letting a man take ownership of a great song/ moment... And if anything the message of this song remains that although you may have had my body, you will never have my heart, my voice my life or my mind.
"Being a survivor of past predators myself, these lines spoke to me, which is why I did the song. I embrace all survivors of sexual and domestic violence and abuse holding a special place in my heart, and you @ladygaga, for doing the right thing! (sic)"
Christina's post comes after Gaga, 32, apologised to her fans for working with R.Kelly on the original track in a social media post addressed to her 77.6 million followers on Twitter.
She wrote: "I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously.
"What I am hearing about the allegations against R Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible. As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life. My intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn't processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. The song is called Do What U Want (With My Body), I think it's clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time.
"If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I'd tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in - or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation - to seek help, and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we've been through.
"I can't go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men, and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault. I have demonstrated my stance on this issue and others many times throughout my career. I share this not to make excuses for myself, but to explain. Til it happens to you, you don't know how it feels. But I do know how I feel now. I intend to remove this song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms and will not be working with him again.
"I'm sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner".
Kelly, 52, has denied all the allegations made against him and has threatened legal action against his accusers and the makers of the series.
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