One of the reasons R. Kelly has evaded law enforcement for decades, despite repeated allegations of sexual abuse against underage girls, is his network of support. Whether it’s friends, fans, or employees, they’ve allegedly protected or enabled him for years, as seen in the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly.
The latest on that list is a Chicago woman named Valencia Love who reportedly bailed out Kelly after he was charged with 10 counts of felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Friday, to which he pleaded not guilty. His lawyer had previously said Kelly did not have the money to post the $100,000 cash bond of his $1 million bail, but on Monday, he was released with the help of Love.
Love later told ABC Chicago, “It was his own money. I just posted [bond] for him.” She said she’s a good friend of Kelly’s.
Multiple outlets have also identified Love as the owner of Lord and Child Christian Day Care, which was quick to anger people. The irony of a daycare owner posting bail for an alleged pedophile wasn’t lost on them.
Two Things:
— Street Writer (@j_infin8te) February 26, 2019
1) A Daycare owner. DAYCARE owner posted bail for a known pedophile.
2) What if the money was actually R Kelly’s money, laundered into such businesses to avoid audits and such? Or maybe I’ve just been watching too many crime shows…
https://twitter.com/jamKartel/status/1100490646547251200
So, let me get this straight. A (presumably Black, based on name and location) woman who owns A DAYCARE CENTER bailed R. Kelly out?! I would remove my child by 3pm… https://t.co/KRKhdbPhGt
— Bärí A. Williams, Esq. (@BariAWilliams) February 26, 2019
Valencia Love owns Lord and Child CHRISTIAN Daycare in Chicago. She just bailed R Kelly out of jail. If your child attends that daycare you should probably reconsider that choice.
— – (@Pisceanluvher) February 26, 2019
Many called for the boycott of her daycare as well as a restaurant she reportedly owns called Love on the Blu.
This is the woman who bailed @rkelly out of jail. She owns @LoveOnTheBlu in Blue Island and Lord and Child Daycare in Chicago. Her name is Valencia Love. SHUT HER DOWN. pic.twitter.com/4ZobPfYpDk
— Uppity Kiki ^_^ (@afrogynous) February 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/AdorabIeHyuck/status/1100473088586772480
https://twitter.com/YoungAndDecent/status/1100526059479597056
https://twitter.com/connichameleon/status/1100475831137304577
https://twitter.com/uppity_negress_/status/1100486602827083776?s=21
People left damaging reviews on the restaurant’s Yelp page since the news broke. “A business where the owner bails out a rapist/child predator. Please take your money somewhere else. Please do not support this business,” wrote one reviewer.
“The fact that this BLACK WOMAN could bail out a rapist and an abuser is despicable,” wrote another reviewer. “You own a children’s day care. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
By Wednesday morning, when the Daily Dot accessed the page, Yelp had disabled the option to leave reviews, citing concerns that the restaurant’s name has been in the media.
Love reportedly defended her actions in Yelp’s comments, according to the Daily Mail, saying, “No big deal: I just help out a Friend if he guilty let him pay for it thru the courts.”