Forget the closet. A new lawsuit is accusing R. Kelly of trapping a former pal in the basement.
The trouble-magnet singer was on the receiving end of a suit Wednesday accusing him of roughing up a onetime employee as well as reneging on a royalty deal--allegations Kelly's spokesman calls "a pathetic collection of half-truths, distortions and outright lies."
In the complaint, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Henry "Love" Vaughn claims he served as "mentor and guide" to Kelly, 39, and was affectionately known as "Uncle Henry Love" by the singer. But the good vibes ended earlier this year, when, the lawsuit asserts, Vaughn was badly beaten in the cellar of Kelly's suburban Chicago home.
In a separate interview with the Chicago Sun-Times last spring, Vaughn said he could not specifically explain what set Kelly off, but speculated the dispute may have started during an NBA All-Star Game watching party on Feb. 19, when Vaughn says he carped about the performer's seven-year-old daughter dancing on a pool table like her daddy's adult friends.

 

Immediately after, he claims in the lawsuit he was pummeled by one of Kelly's crew and then at Kelly's behest, Vaughn says he was hauled down to the singer's basement, where the Grammy winner "repeatedly struck [Vaughn] about the face and body with his fists."

 

Vaughn included several exhibits in the lawsuit to backup his claim, including medical photos of a bloody lip, documents from the hospital detailing his emergency room visit and a police report.

 

His complaint also has a claim for breach of verbal contract, alleging he suggested to Kelly the idea for a track inspired by the "steppin' " dance craze that ultimately became the track "Step in the Name of Love," but that Kelly broke a promise to pay Vaughn half of the royalties earned from the tune.


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