R. Kelly’s former hairstylist details alleged 2003 sexual assault

R. Kelly’s former hairstylist Lanita Carter, one of four anonymous accusers in the singer’s February indictment on sexual abuse charges, has gone public with detailed allegations against the embattled R&B star.

“I’m not ashamed of my past anymore. I’m not ashamed of what naysayers say,” Carter said Thursday on “CBS This Morning.”

Carter, identified in the indictment as “L.C.,” said she was 24 when she was called in to braid Kelly’s hair in 2003. When she arrived, he asked her to massage his head. Then he pulled her hair and sexually assaulted her, she said.

Carter said she called the police that day and turned in DNA evidence Kelly had left on her clothes. Shortly thereafter, she entered into a $650,000 settlement with Kelly in which he denied wrongdoing and Carter agreed to keep quiet.

However, his 2009 song “Hair Braider” alluded to having sex with a woman who braided his hair and included details about the alleged assault. That led to another $100,000 settlement. Kelly again denied any wrongful conduct, but agreed never to perform the song or include it on another album.

Carter said she was moved to come forward by Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” docuseries and wants more alleged victims to do the same. Gayle King’s explosive interview with the singer last month, in which he denied the allegations against him, also emboldened her.

“This is a release,” Carter said. “I’ve been carrying this since 2003. I don’t want to be in the public, but this is my life. If I die tomorrow, I know that I told the truth.”

Kelly’s defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, told CBS News that the allegations Carter made “were fully investigated by the police and prosecutors ... [a]nd a decision was made, after evaluating all of the evidence, not to bring any charges.”

Carter is currently represented by attorney Michael Avenatti, who is facing his own slate of criminal charges and was arrested this week in New York City.

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