“I respect her perspective” — Internet lauds Drea Kelly as she explains why she still kept her former husband R. Kelly’s last name

Drea Kelly appeared on the Reality With the King podcast on Tuesday, December 10, and explained why she kept her former husband R. Kelly's last name. The choreographer and dancer told the host, Carlos King, that she faced a lot of criticism for keeping her ex-husband's last name.

She added that people would also compare her to Tina Turner and would complain that she didn't bring enough to the table to earn the name. Drea responded to it stating that she was "the table" and the critics didn't know the things she did. This included the time she spent not just as R. Kelly's choreographer, principal dancer, video stylist, and creative director but also as his wife and the mother to his kids.

Drea, whose full name is Andrea Kelly said that she didn't care about what people felt and wanted to keep the same last name as her kids. She added that the last name allowed her to do a lot of awareness campaigns.

"At the end of the day, people shouldn’t be worried about why I kept the last name, they should be worried about what I do with it," she stated.

Netizens who heard Kelly explain her decision to keep R. Kelly's name took to social media to praise her for the way she explained why she did what she did. An Instagram user, who went by @pineapplelawyer commented that they respected her perspective.

"I respect her perspective. She's a strong woman and mama 🙌🏽👑"

Netizens lauded Kelly (Image via Instagram/@theshaderoom)

While many netizens agreed with Drea's decision to keep the name, some said that it made "hella sense." People also noted how ready Drea was for a question about her last name. However, some social media users felt that Drea Kelly was keeping the name simply to pay the bills. Others outright wanted her to let go of the last name.

Netizens lauded Kelly (Image via Instagram/@theshaderoom)

Netizens criticized Drea Kelly's decision to keep her former husband's last name (Image via Instagram/@theshaderoom)

Drea and R. Kelly got married in 1996 and have three children together, Joann, Jaah, and Robert Jr. They filed for divorce in 2006, which was finalized in 2009, after Drea accused Kelly of assault in 2005.

Drea Kelly's former husband is serving a 31-year prison sentence after he was convicted of racketeering, s*x trafficking, and child s*xual abuse in 2022 and child p*rnography in 2023.

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"How do I bring to the table when I am the table?": Drea Kelly

Andrea "Drea" Kelly, rapper R. Kelly's former wife, appeared on the latest episode of television producer Carlos King's talk show, Reality With the King. Drea told King that people didn't know that there were many layers to her, apart from being R. Kelly's wife.

She said that she was R. Kelly's choreographer and principal dancer, and saw herself as a "creative director" for the singer. She explained that she loved and put a lot of effort into fashion and designing. Drea also said that she had a hand in both the music videos for the tracks Summer Bunnies, Thoia Thoing, and Happy People.

Drea addressed criticism from people, comparing her decision to keep her last name to Tina Turner's choice to do the same. She stated that people didn't know what she did or what her profession was.

"You don't even know what I do? You don’t even know what my profession is, and at the end of the day, how do I bring to the table when I am the table?" Drea added.

Drea noted that she gave birth to her and R. Kelly's children and it made her sad when people criticized her choice to keep her ex-husband's name. She elaborated on this stating that it made her feel like they negated and discounted a woman's position as a wife and a mother.

"Because you can’t clock what I do, because you haven’t done your research, you think it’s okay to go on the internet and say, ‘She don’t do nothing, Tina Turner did something.’ The only difference between me and Tina Turner is she sang on the stage with Ike, I danced on one with Robert," Drea added.

When Carlos King asked her what she felt when people criticized her for keeping her last name despite her kids being grown-ups, Drea said that she didn't "give a f**k" about what they felt.

Drea Kelly said that she didn't care because it was a name she had "earned in blood, sweat and tears." The choreographer said that if her kids had to go through it "as Kelly," their "mama going through it as Kelly."

"It’s my kids’ name and my analogy is this, when all the s**t hit the fan, how would you feel if your name is Brown and your kids name is Brown, and your family goes through something, and you tell your kids, ‘Oop! You a Brown by yourself, I’m out!'," she said.

Drea Kelly discussed how the last name Kelly allowed her to do a lot of things to spread awareness about domestic violence. She said that it helped her get the 20/20 to follow her, appear on CNN to spread awareness and go to military bases and universities to talk about abuse.

Drea Kelly stated that her name meant more to the people criticizing her than it did to her adding that they should be celebrating what she's doing with the name.