Touré, Journalist and “Surviving R. Kelly” Contributor, Accused of Sexual Harassment, Responds

Touré, the veteran journalist and cultural critic who was among the contributors to the Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly,” has been accused of sexual harassment and has issued a response to the accusation, Essence reports. A makeup artist named Dani alleged that while working on a TV show together in 2017, Touré repeatedly asked her sexually charged questions and made inappropriate comments.

In a comment on an Instagram post promoting an appearance by Touré on the Clubhouse With Mouse Jones Podcast, Dani wrote:

Every Monday I used to work with him on a show in 2017 and he couldn’t stop asking me to do anal, how I looked naked, if I had sex over the weekend, what it would be like to fuck me, what his cum would look like on my face.... I had to have the crew stay in the room [with] me while I got him ready.... And when I left I called HR.... He got fired instantly. He wrote me a huge apology for doing that in my DMs. Still have it. He did a “20/20” shoot in 2018, and I was there, and he walked out. Told the producer that he was “embarrassed [because] he was inappropriate with a staff member.” He really needs to take a seat.

She reiterated her claims in an interview with Essence.

A representative for Touré sent the following statement to Essence: “On the show, our team, including myself, engaged in edgy, crass banter, that at the time I did not think was offensive for our tight-knit group. I am sorry for my language and for making her feel uncomfortable in any way. As a lead on the show, I should have refrained from this behavior. I have learned and grown from this experience.”

Touré interviewed R. Kelly for BET in 2008, shortly after Kelly was acquitted on child pornography charges. In the interview, Touré asked Kelly, “Do you like teenage girls?” to which Kelly responded, “When you say teenage, how old are we talking?” Touré reflected on the experience in a Daily Beast essay in 2017. He also spoke about the BET interview in “Surviving R. Kelly.”

As Jezebel notes, actor/comedian Terry Crews—who has been an advocate for sexual assault survivors and opened up publicly about his own experience being groped by a Hollywood executive—announced yesterday (January 10) that he had canceled a scheduled appearance on Touré's podcast.

If you are being sexually harassed, you can report it to the authorities at your job, school, or local law enforcement. For more information go to https://www.rainn.org/ThatsHarassment