On the heels of a bombshell report by BuzzFeed that he runs a “sex cult,” Robert Kelly, the R&B icon better known as R. Kelly, has retained a longtime lawyer to refute the shocking allegations.

That attorney, entertainment and intellectual property expert Linda Mensch, promptly released a statement to “Entertainment Tonight” this week on Kelly’s behalf denying that he has ever held or imprisoned young women against their will at properties he owns in Atlanta and Chicago.