Produced by the ILAB at WBUR Boston.

Hey, endless thread heads. I know it's not your usual day to get something in your feed,

but some of you may have heard about this new lifetime documentary surviving Arkelli.

It's a six-part series that shares the stories of dozens of women and people in the music industry

who either witnessed or survived Arkelli's alleged abuse, pedophilia, and predatory behavior.

The documentary is sparking new conversations about Arkelli at the water cooler on social media and, of course, on Reddit.

Uncomfortable conversations. Then I found a post on the Black Ladies subreddit the other day that asked why people still support Arkelli despite the allegations.

The original poster wrote,

someone make it make sense. I don't even really know how to look at people when they defend him.

And the comments on this thread were fascinating, but they were also pretty tough to read.

So here's one that says,

because if people hold Arkelli accountable, they'd have to hold the men in their families and lives accountable as well.

Glasshouses rarely want to throw stones, even if the stones are well deserved.

Here's another one. I think it's also ingrained in us that we have to defend Black men because historically they've been unjustly crucified, even if that means going against our own best interests.

I feel like one person kind of boiled it down. They said that people support him basically because they like his music.

Quote, a lot of folks can justify a lot of stuff if the bad thing brings them something they like.

Hmm.

So on the one hand, it feels like there's this new conversation starting around Arkelli,

and on the other as the surviving Arkelli lifetime documentary shows, people have known about these allegations for decades.

And last May, our colleagues from another WBUR podcast, Edge of Fame, took a close look at the R&B singer through the lens of a family who claims that Arkelli is holding their daughter captive.

We wanted to share that episode with you now. And just a heads up, it contains some upsetting details. So please use discretion. Okay, here's the show.

I miss you. I miss you too.

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