Convicted sex offender R. Kelly was first prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, and now nearly 24 years later, the girl at the center of that prosecution is telling her story as to her relationship with the singer in a new book.
Reshona Landfair’s new book “Who’s Watching Shorty?” recounts her experiences with the singer, and she shared her story with NBC 5’s Evrod Cassimy as she aims to use her experience to help others.
Landfair, who was 14 years old in the infamous tape that kickstarted the prosecution, said she hopes by sharing her story, she can help others heal from their traumas.
“There’s no dollar amount that can give me time back,” Landfair said. “There’s no dollar amount that can replace my education. There’s no dollar amount…where my son’s future won’t be interrupted by this.”
Landfair gets emotional when asked “why now?” The 41-year-old mother is telling her side of the story after being known for decades as the girl in the R. Kelly tape.
Her new book is an explicit depiction of how her relationship with R. Kelly came to be. She’s writing this book to share with the world who she really is today.
Cassimy: “Who do you not want to be known as?”
Landfair: “The R. Kelly girl who was in the sex tape.”
Cassimy: “Is that how you feel people view you?”
Landfair: “That’s how people view me. I hear the whispers and the snickers all the time. There’s no professional setting I can step into without having to worry about who that is. There’s not a social setting or a relationship that I can enter without that same commentary.”
R. Kelly was convicted of production of child pornography in 2022. Now, in 2026, writing this book was part of Reshona’s healing.
“It was very liberating,” she said. “It was very peaceful. It was just my way to purge and get all of those toxins out of my mind, my heart and my body.”
Those toxins are constantly exacerbated by social media where fans of R. Kelly still blame her daily.
“I’m getting death threats, all of the things, and again this was something that happened to me when I was 14,” she said.
The abuse she endured ruined her relationship with her family including her mother, late father and her aunt, R&B artist and R. Kelly protégé, Sparkle. Telling her story in this book is a step towards repairing those broken relationships.
Cassimy: “Is your mother still alive?”
Landfair: “Yes.”
Cassimy: “Has she read the book?”
Landfair: “Yes.”
Cassimy: “What was her reaction?”
Landfair: “She was apologetic. She’s taken accountability for her shortcomings. We’re working through our relationship and it’s still a healing process for the both of us.”
She also has received apologies from people who judged her before hearing her story.
“There have been a lot of apologies you know? I’ve gotten messages that say hey when I was a child I wish that I took this more seriously. I wish I didn’t laugh or I didn’t participate in negative things. I don’t know you but I see you,” she said.
Today, Reshona places blame for what happened to her on R. Kelly alone. She hopes that readers will see her for who she is now.
“I want to be known as a mother, a human being, a great friend, a woman of God. I have been kinda labeled in the shadows of Robert and I’m just here. I’m present today and I’m just trying to reclaim my name and my voice,” she said.
She’s doing that not just with her new book, but Reshona plans to start a mentoring program for young girls and battered women. It’ll be called Project Refine. She’ll be announcing that on her social media soon @whoswatchingshorty.
Her book with the same title is out now.
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