Reshona Landfair Reveals Abuse in Memoir About R. Kelly
A “Jane Doe” in the R. Kelly trials is ready to share her real name. And her story Reshona Landfair's memoir tells the story of the then-teenaged "Jane Doe" seen in a video that led to her testimony in singer R. Kelly's trials on child pornography and other charges.
Reshona Landfair, long identified in court records and the press as "Jane Doe," says she met R. Kelly as a preteen in 1996. She recalls being starstruck at first and then groomed, leading to years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Landfair also describes the profound isolation she felt when a videotape of Kelly abusing her became public.
Speaking with All Things Considered host Juana Summers, Landfair said the aftermath felt like being imprisoned: deeply traumatizing, hurtful and lonely. The tape was shown to juries in two trials related to Kelly's child pornography charges — in 2008, which ended in acquittal, and again in 2022, which resulted in conviction.
Her new memoir, Who's Watching Shorty? Reclaiming Myself from the Shame of R. Kelly's Abuse (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group), traces her turbulent adolescence, her escape from a long cycle of exploitation, and her work to reclaim her identity and speak for other survivors. The full interview aired on All Things Considered.
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