R. Kelly Admitted to Hospital After Miraculously Surviving Prison Incident

TMZ was among the outlets to report on June 17, 2025 that R. Kelly had been rushed from a North Carolina prison to the hospital after an overdose on medication that his lawyers say was the fault of prison staff.

The outlet cites a court filing submitted by Kelly’s attorney that claims a staff member told Kelly to take extra medication on the night of June 12 which left the R&B singer “bedridden,” according to the claim.

What Happened to R. Kelly?

The details of R. Kelly’s prescription medication overdose are currently scant. The type and name of the medication he took have not been publicly announced. There is currently no indication that the overdose was an intentional act by Kelly. The musician maintains that the overdose was orchestrated by staff in the prison.

Kelly’s attorney, Beau B. Brindley, says Kelly awoke on June 13 after taking the medication the night before “feeling faint and dizzy.” He then passed out after attempting to crawl to the door of his cell, according to his lawyer.

TMZ says Kelly spent two days at Duke University Hospital, where his lawyer says he learned from doctor during his two-day stay that the amount of prescribed medication he took could have been fatal.

Page Six says papers filed by Kelly’s attorneys say the “Ignition” singer was being held in solitary confinement at FCI Butner when “prison staff approached him, and he showed them the medications in his possession.” These were the medications Kelly regularly takes for anxiety and sleep, per a filing by Brindley.

Brindley says staff then returned and gave Kelly additional meds outside of his usual regimen, which caused the medical emergency.

R. Kelly Is Asking to Be Released From Prison On Home Confinement; Alleges There Have Been Multiple Attempts On His Life Inside Prison

Through his attorney, R. Kelly is saying that officials at his North Carolina federal prison have placed him in danger multiple times, and is asking a judge to let him out on home confinement.

Kelly began his 30-year sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking convictions at FCI Butner, located northwest of Raleigh, in 2022.

USA Today reports that days prior to Kelly’s prison overdose, his lawyer says “three Bureau of Prisons officials allegedly devised a plot to have him killed by another inmate.”

“Federal officers have solicited the murder of R. Kelly because he intends to expose the corruption underlying his federal prosecutions.  We have filed our motion to make sure that they fail,” the outlet says Kelly’s lawyer told them on June 11.