R Kelly documentary premiere evacuated after threats

The premiere of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly was cut short on Tuesday night as a gun threat reportedly forced viewers to evacuate. In the aftermath, Kelly's ex-wife Drea Kelly believes that he had something to do with the threats.

"At tonight's premiere of Lifetime's documentary series Surviving R. Kelly at NeueHouse Madison Square, several anonymous threats were called in", Lifetime said in a statement obtained by EW.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, a representative from Lifetime said that the evacuation happened as a precaution, and that they believe that the calls came from somewhere in Chicago.

"Calling in a noncredible threat to the NYPD to interrupt our screening is an act of desperation from people who don't want these truths shared with the world", the show's showrunner Dream Hampton told CNN.

While Kitti Jones, who previous year accused Kelly of physical abuse and sexual coercion, told Rolling Stone: "This just speaks to how much power there is in numbers, that someone felt the need to threaten the event". She believes that the threat could be connected to R. Kelly. Variety reported that the venue had received two anonymous phone calls claiming that someone in the theater had a gun.

The event was filled with the disgraced singer's accusers and #MeToo supporters who were prepared to give testimony about the alleged accusations against Kelly for his ongoing abusive behavior during a Q&A session after the movie had aired. While she can't say for certain if R. Kelly acted alone or not, she says, "I do believe that in some shape, form or fashion it is connected to him".

"But I would say that I don't believe in happenstance, I don't believe that anything is a coincidence".

As of this writing, R. Kelly has yet to comment on the anonymous caller shutting down the Surviving R. Kelly documentary premiere.

The series premieres on Lifetime on January 3.