this is "nightline." tonight the notorious grammy award winning singer r kelly, disturbing headlines have long over shadowed his playboy persona but now his former wife of 13 years coming forward, what she has to say about the man she knew behind closed doors. >> did you ever fear for your life? >> yes. >> you thought he might kill you? >> yeah. >> plus long live the queen. from music. ♪ >> to hit movies like "a star is born". >> what you want to play. don' while you do it. >> how the glitz and glitter of drag has sashheed into main

stream culture. and how this mystery man is getting us into the holiday spirit. first the "nightline" five.

♪ good evening, thanks for joining us. r. kelly's fame as a rnb hit maker has long been eclipsed by

infamous headlines. tonight his exwife shares her story of a difficult past with the grammy award winner, shedding light on what she said was an abusive relationship, hoping to help others. >> people have no idea there's two different men, the person robert, and the persona r. ke y kelly. >> r. kelly widely regarded as s king of r&b. songs like "ignition" but his ex wife kelly says there's something behind that persona. >> here i am principle dancer, on stage, right next to him and people have no idea this man just beat me on the bus. people have no idea of the bruises i'm hiding. >> she claims she was a victim of emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of

robert kelly. >> did you fear for your life. >> yes. >> you thought he might kill you? >> yes. >> your kids? >> no. but me definitely. >> in a video there's a part i'm dressed as a geisha. and so i put it in the video. >> why did you decide now. >> summer 2017 hits and all of these allegations start coming out and i'm like god i don't think i can take this one. >> we begin with disturbing allegations, he texted r kelly to let me daughter free. >> their daughter was being held against her will by kelly. the article says six women live in properties rented by kelly in chicago and the atlantic suburbs

and he controls every allegation of his lives. those allegations have joined the call to #muterkelly demanding people stop listening to his l. play list. after months of silence he released this 19-minute song called "i admit". ♪ i'm falsely accused ♪ how could you judge ♪ when you never ♪ walked in my shoes ♪ >> what do you think of his song "i admit". >> the dumbest thing, he didn't admit anything. the classic narcissistic response. >> they met 20 years in their hometown of chicago. r kelly just 27 years old broke out with his hit "bump and grind" and auditioning back up

dancers. >> i remember i danced the paint off the wall. they started clapping and he was like ah, you got the job. >> just 19 years old it was her dream gig, she would rise from back up to choreographer and then her boss sought intimate relationship. >> he said i was reading the bible on the tour bus and he said you remind me of my momma. >> at this point no indication there might be violence or rudeness. >> no but i did see a man who was very controlling. >> he would continue to climb the billboard charts, soon with the release of this cross over mega hit. ♪ >> after i believe "i could fly" we were married i seen him going from all-black audience knowing where he is, to now you're doing

"space jam" getting grammy nods. winning grammys. >> r kelly i believe i could fly. >> wow. >> at what point did you feel your marriage going down. >> when i was pregnant with my first child he locked me in the bathroom and i slept in the bathtub. >> even though they would go on to have two more children she says their marriage was crumbling and then in 2002. >> r kelly was charged today with 21 counts of importa important ogden grpornography. >> when the child pornography charges surfaced did you believe it? >> no i'm thinking to myself that's impossible but again he kept me very sheltered.

>> did some part of you have a nagging suspicious. >> i'm too busy dealing with my own abuse. ♪ >> around this time r kelly would sit with an interview with abc news. >> people need to understand that r kelly is not who they think but it's who i know. you know. i'm not perfect. >> he would face trial for multiple charges of child pornography and be acquitted on all counts but at home she says he grew more controlling and easily angered. >> there's no let's talk about it, like a regular couple, you know, no. it's his way or the highway, period. >> it was a seemingly ordinary scenario that led to her being attacked, restrained and ultimately hog tied by kelly. >> and he took the rope tie and tied my arms behind my back and then he took my legs and he tied my legs and my hands and arms

together and i just remember laying on the side of the bed crying like let me go, just untie me, let me go. and he fell asleep with me on the side of the bed like an animal. >> in 2005 you file a order of protection and then few weeks later you withdraw it, why did you withdraw it? >> fear. he's a powerful man. at this time he's at the top of his game. so now i get this order of protection and it dawns on you, this is not bullet proof. >> eventually she says a series of altercations while on vacation in miami led to her almost trying to end her life. >> what happened there? what kept you? >> first god. but my kids. i remember i climbed out on the balcony and i looked down and was like god allow med to see my body laying in blood and i prayed to god okay i need an answer i need it now and he told me to get my laptop, of all

things, and type in domestic violence. i take the survey and of the 17 things on the list robert had already done 15. >> she said she was determined to leave, fleeing with her three children to her father's home. in 2006 she filed for divorce. >> have you thought about changing your last name? >> no. >> don't mind the association still with being a kelly? >> well when people say association it's like a club, i paid for my name is blood, sweat and tears, literally. nobody knows what it was like to be drea kelly who is strong, a survivor, who made it away from robert kelly. >> in response, no comment. >> when was the last time you did have contact with him.

>> so long ago i can't even remember. >> she is now a full time mom. her three children all live close by just outside of los angeles. >> there is my world. i call them my eggs. if you go on my social media everybody sees #myeggs. >> her eggs are now all grown up are from 16 to 21 years old and are well aware about the headlines about their dad and say his past has sometimes led to them being bullied at school. >> how would you handle it when people might say something nasty to you? >> i just, i know it doesn't have anything to do with me. >> do you have any contact at all with your dad? >> no. >> not really. >> and it's been a long time. any message for dad at all? >> hi. >> oh, my gosh. >> what now? what's next for you? >> everything! >> now to be able to fearlessly

tell my story and to shout it from the mountain tops, wow, that's! words can't even describe that. >> don't have to keep talking about the storm, it's about how you come out of it. >> she's now an advocate for victims of domestic abuse. >> the process is never-ending. that's a misconception, people think, did you he'll fral from m healing every day. >> what did you learn from this. >> i learned i'm a vessel. i'm being used for something greater than me. >> up next the bigger personalities, how drag can queens are adding sparkle to main stream pop culture. ♪ whoa! the mercedes-benz winter event is back, and you won't want to stop for anything else.

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am i saying it well, l'chaim? l'chaim. maybe you're making merry. l'chaim! or maybe you're making cocoa. don't spill it. maybe you're with the family you got. (all) ooh! or maybe the one you've chosen. it's culture salad. maybe there's lights... there's definitely lights. maybe there's one less this year. or maybe one more. (singing) our holidays don't all look the same. and maybe that's what makes us great. make the dream yours. ikea.

♪ ♪ connecting people... ...uniting the world. ♪♪

from the sky-high wigs to the glittery fake eyelashes we're about to take you inside the sassy world of drag queens. the larger-than-life performers have always beated to their own drum but now mainstream dancers are dancing along. >> did you see that? >> grab a camera and come on. >> i love you! >> an aura so big you'd think the queen just walked in. and she kind of did. >> can you go to the middle so we don't have anarchy. >> to thousands screaming. i felt i was walking side by side with a real-life superhero. this is the famous trixie

and this is drag conlike comicconbut for fans obsessed with glitter literally everywhere. it feels like the whole world is in drag. from television, to movies. ♪ like break out roles in this year's hit "a star is born" and even music ♪ long live the queens the drag has gone main stream. taking over pop culture. and no more is that more clear than at ru paul's drag con. >> we're so excited to invite everybody into our world. >> does anybody have a trixie tathere you go. let me see it. >> why is drag so popular? what about it is so special. >> visually it represents the

metaphor of marching to the beat of your own drum. drag conis a powerful branding tool not just for the queens but the vendors as well. last year over $8 million was exchanged not including ticket sales. >> here the biggest names in drag can flaunt their achievements. like current reigning drag race queen aquaria the 22-year-old just signed to the same agency that represents other super models she's also one of the faces of the h & m campaign. despite that success she comes to drag con to see and meet her fans face to face. >> seems like a lot of positive energy. >> it leavely is a lot of love, when there's people who come to see me who like me more than i like myself that sounds like a win-win to me. >> one of the most famous queens at drag con is a breath of fresh

air, pepper mint who started in the new york city drag scene. >> seemed like drag queen couldn't exist in any other contest than in a gay bar. now we can bring our drag into the room unapologetically. >> pup e9 came in as gender in 2012 and stepped into season nine for ru paul and now starring on broad way featuring the hits of the go-goes. >> here i am a black trans woman from harlem who made a living as a drag queen until few years ago was not a vial iebl answer for who is your job when you talk to people. >> that's exactly what ru paul said just two years ago. >> i haven't been accepted iname

the only way they could actually have a conversation with me is to make fun of me. >> two years later how would you answer that question? >> can drag race go main stream. >> can drag go main stream? >> yes it has and it continues to. i feel like we're just at the beginning of these moments and people from what i can see people just have a hupg hunger t and seem to fall in love with it same as i have. >> terroririxie with her signat look has broke into the music season and hopes her album "one stone" gets nominated for a grammy. >> in the music aspect of the drag scene you don't hear much country. >> no you don't but think about it, isn't dolly parton drag. how about carry underwood in big, fake hair, ru paul says we're all in drag, we're all dressed up as something.

>> so i've never done drag am i missing out. >> i got to warn you it's more painful than it looks. this year is nothing. even this is a little painful. >> i don't think i could walk in this. >> yes you could. you could do it. >> let's dtry. wow. this is difficult. i could not -- >> you walked the whole thing. >> no this is not for me. i'm about to fall over. there you go, there you go. >> after that test run, i had to go all out. >> oh, man. >> i got earrings i got a wig and i got drew on the fingers. >> if you go to drag con got to do it up ladies. >> i got the small pair of eyelashes and i can barely see. >> i'm with colton and ralph and they're going to teach me >> okay. snap it back. there you go. >> yeah.

>> you got it. work baby. ♪ >> i'm basically about the glitter. >> i cannot wait to get this glitter everywhere. >> so maybe the glitter's not for me but i definitely learned something to be true, drag brings people together, as their authentic selves. >> you'd be surprised, could break down the most stellar people and get them laughing, crying, dancing, and so drag is a really powerful tool. >> for night line in new york. >> up next, the mystery man paying it forward in a very big way. >> abc news "nightline" sponsored by -- ♪ whoa!

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♪ and finally tonight, thanks to a mystery donor some shoppers were shocked to find an early holiday present. after making his list and checking it twice a manrmont des

ni, picking up the tab for all of the lay away items in walmart. >> this can't be. who can afford to be for everyone's lay away. he said santa claus can. >> only one image of him that day posting it online saying he made me believe in the magic of christmas. that's "nightline." thanks for staying one us. don't forget you can watch our full episodes on hulu. good night america.

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