NEW YORK — For an illegal wedding that has haunted R&B superstar R. Kelly for 27 years, the actual ceremony wasn’t much to write home about — lasting a mere 10 minutes, the minister who officiated testified Wednesday.
Nathan Edmond, now 73, was summoned to a hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, to conduct a speedy ceremony between the 27-year-old Kelly and the 15-year-old Aaliyah. The wedding came after Kelly found out that Aaliyah was pregnant, his former manager testified.
“The door opened to the bedroom and out stepped, I guess, Aaliyah and Mr. Kelly,” wearing matching jogging suits, recalled Edmond. “One leg of the jogging suit up to the knee,” he added.
Aaliyah’s face was half-shrouded by her hair.
Edmond said the ceremony itself was 10 minutes “or less,” and that Kelly and Aaliyah kissed and exchanged vows.
He gave his word to a member of Kelly’s entourage that he would not speak publicly about the nuptials and declined various interview requests through the years, he testified.
Aaliyah, born Aaliyah Haughton, and Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, were married Aug. 31, 1994, according to the marriage license. Kelly rushed back from a tour in Orlando, Florida, to wed the underage girl.
His tour manager at the time, Demetrius Smith, paid a $500 bribe to a Chicago public assistance worker to make a fake ID for the 15-year-old so she could get married; 18 is the legal age to wed in Illinois without parental consent.
Aaliyah was a rising R&B star who worked closely with Kelly. She died in a plane crash in August 2001 at age 22.
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