R Kelly accuser Faith Rodgers says he wrote letter threatening to reveal details of her sex life

'No woman should be victim-shamed, harassed or retaliated against because she spoke her truth'

A woman who has accused R Kelly of sexually assaulting her and intentionally infecting her with herpes, has claimed the musician threatened to reveal embarrassing details of her sex life if she did not drop the lawsuit.

Faith Rodgers, who last year sued Kelly, saying he had locked her in rooms as punishment for failing to please him, and infected her with the sexually transmitted disease, said he had written to her in what she said was an attempt at “victim shaming”.

The letter allegedly sent to Ms Rodgers, 21, who previously said her year-long relationship with Kelly began when she was aged 19, said if she continued with her lawsuit she would be “subjected to public opinion”. Lawyers for Kelly have claimed the letter is not genuine.

The letter said the singer would demand medical documentation of her claim that he gave her herpes, force her to turn over texts and social media posts, and have “10 personal male witnesses testifying under oath about her sex life”.

“If Ms Rodgers really cares about her own reputation she should cease her participation and association with the organisers of this negative campaign,” the letter said, according to the Associated Press.

A lawyer for Kelly in Chicago, Steve Greenberg, denied the letter’s authenticity, saying it “looks fake”.

“It obviously was not authored or signed by Mr Kelly, nor sent on his behalf,” Mr Greenberg told the AP. “He doesn’t write letters.”

The letter was sent last October to one of Ms Rodgers’ lawyers in New York, a few weeks after the singer was served with the lawsuit accusing him of demeaning her, locking her in rooms and vehicles, and subjecting her to “non-permissive, painful and abusive sex”.

Ms Rodgers said she met Kelly after a concert in San Antonio, Texas. She participated in the recent documentary Surviving R Kelly, which catalogued years of accusations against the singer.

“We are here today to let Mr Kelly know in no uncertain terms that he cannot and will not intimidate his alleged victims into keeping silent about their allegations,” one of her lawyers, Gloria Allred, said at a news conference in New York on Monday.

Ms Rodgers said: “No woman should be victim-shamed, harassed or retaliated against because she asserted her rights and spoke her truth.”

Kelly has stridently denied any wrongdoing.