Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Faking It: R. Kelly’ on Discovery+, Where Experts Analyze The Singer’s Nonverbal Admissions Of Guilt

In Faking It: R. Kelly (Discovery+), experts in body language, linguistics, and forensic psychology weigh in on what truths can be gleaned from the R&B superstar and convicted sex offender’s mannerisms and non-verbal cues in various interviews he’s given over the years. It’s a concept on loan from the Discovery UK series Faking It, where the same experts analyze people who hid in plain sight from their murderous ways.   

FAKING IT: R. KELLY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Over aerial shots of downtown, Faking It narrator Rob Warner sets the scene. “March, 2019. And the world’s biggest R&B artist is out on bail for alleged sex crimes in his home city of Chicago.”

The Gist: That month, Kelly agreed to an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, an interview that quickly devolved into unhinged ranting and counter-accusations by the R&B singer, who at the time was still awaiting his day in court to face federal charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault involving minors. It was an attempt to control public opinion, says journalist Jim DeRogotis, who’s reported on R. Kelly for two decades, though all it really did was go viral. And then Faking It’s panel of experts tackles what Kelly’s saying when he’s not saying it. Linguistics professor Dawn Archer notes the “breathy voice quality” during his denials, “like he’s performing for the cameras.” And Dr. Cliff Lansley, a body language expert, points to Kelly’s subtle physical indicators as revelations of his dishonesty. Faking It drops into slow-motion, then close-up, then an extreme close-up as it gives weight to the slightest of shrugs. Do you trust words, Lansley asks, or the body, “which leaks the truth subconsciously.”

As DeRogotis fills in some biographical background on Kelly, Faking It introduces forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes, who explains that the singer, as a victim of sexual abuse as a child, aligns with the percentage of men who, after being “controlled and dominated and used,” want to “take on the role of abuser themselves.” Then it’s analysis time again, as a clip plays of R. Kelly appearing with Aaliyah on BET’s Video Soul Gold. Archer draws out his subtle references to the O.J. Simpson chase as proof of his own criminal behavior toward the underage Aaliyah, and Lansley points to physical cues that prove Kelly’s “unease was evident.” Faking It then replays bits and pieces of the interview in two different close-ups.

The heat is turned up on Kelly as he settles civil lawsuits and pays underage girls and their families to stay silent, and DeRogotis describes how he received the anonymous videotape that led to more charges against the singer. “Here was 26 minutes and 39 seconds of the most horrifying video I’ve ever seen.” And in his public denials during a series of interviews, Lansley highlights a “single-sided shoulder shrug” and “manipulators from his hands” as nonverbal admissions of guilt, moments that are shown again and again in extreme close-up.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Faking It series on Discovery+ has also tackled Michael Jackson, Ted Bundy, and Chris Watts, the Colorado man whose confession to the murder of his wife and two children has become an entire true crime franchise. And the same crew of experts also appear in Faking It: Tears of a Crime, a series that examines how people shed tears to hide their guilt in criminal cases. (Note: Faking It: R. Kelly, and the other shows in this series, should also not be confused with Faking It, the teen comedy that ran for three seasons on MTV about two friends who must pretend to be in a lesbian relationship.)

Our Take: In the music industry, Jim DeRogotis says, “R. Kelly’s predilections and his predation were never a secret,” because the Grammy-winning R&B singer was a hit songwriter and midas touch producer. And while that’s notable, it’s one of the parts of Faking It where this episode feels padded, as if it was a documentary about Kelly in general instead of one specifically covering the admissions inherent in his nonverbal cues. There’s certainly a lot of awfulness in the R. Kelly story, and bizarre details like the allegations that he presided over his own personal sex cult. But while the story DeRogotis is telling establishes some context, it feels misaligned with the segments where Faking It experts analyze Kelly’s speech and movements, rewinding bits of grainy footage ad nauseam as they glean truths from tiny details.

Sex and Skin: Nothing overt, but the frank discussions about Kelly’s toxic sexual predation makes for some unsettiling moments.

Parting Shot: “Nobody in the history of pop music has ever been convicted of sexual predation on the scale that R. Kelly now stands convicted,” journalist Jim DeRogotis says. “There’s nobody worse.” And forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes adds that in sexual abuse like what Kelly engaged in, “the sexual need is second to the emotional need. It’s a need to have power and control, and it’s a need to degrade and humiliate the victims as well. Imagine having all of that talent and still feeling that you need to control and degrade young girls to feel adequate.”

Sleeper Star: Professor of linguistics Dawn Archer and forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes periodically read out R. Kelly’s sexually explicit lyrics and song titles in the clipped, academic tones. “There’s a track, and it’s called ‘I Like the Crotch on You.’ So, not exactly poetry, and fairly self-explanatory.”

Most Pilot-y Line: “What we see when he’s saying no, is a little head movement up and down yes.” Body language expert Dr. Cliff Lansley believes this “micro head-shake” that R. Kelly repeatedly performs in his interviews is the “tell” that he’s lying.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Some of the gestural or oral minutiae highlighted by the Faking It: R. Kelly experts are interesting as fodder for speculation. But those segments feel disconnected from the portion of this episode that acts as a boilerplate Kelly documentary.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges