AALIYAH's mom has launched a blistering attack on an author on the 20th anniversary of the pop star's death.
The 22-year-old pop star died after the plane she was traveling in crashed on August 25, 2001, shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport on the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas.
On the anniversary of the tragic accident, Aaliyah's mom Diane Haughton spoke out about the release of a biography on her daughter, according to HotNewHipHop.
"First and foremost I want to thank my dear "Special Ones" that have been with us for years and supported every endeavor that came our way without hesitation," she wrote on Instagram.
"However, due to the behavior of an individual that has been to Aaliyah's resting place in order to promote a book, I have been forced to make a drastic change at Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum."
Fans believe Haughton was talking about journalist Kathy Iandoli's biography Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, which was released last week, according to HotNewHipHop.
However, Iandoli has denied those claims, saying on Twitter: "I did not promote my book outside of Aaliyah's gravesite.
"That is offensive to even suggest. I have been told that fans have had my book there with them. Please no longer bring my book to Ferncliff. Apologies that fans can not visit Aaliyah's resting place."
Read our Aaliyah anniversary live blog for the latest news and updates…
- Julia Fields
MARRIAGE LICENSE LISTS AALIYAH AS 18
Vibe Magazine reprinted an R. Kelly story that ran the same year as his marriage to Aaliyah, including a marriage license for the two reading Aaliyah as age 18 and Robert Kelly as 27.
The license was dated a day after Kelly allegedly paid the bribe, on August 31, 1994.
- Julia Fields
DID ANYONE KNOW HOW YOUNG AALIYAH WAS WHEN SHE GOT MARRIED?
Many didn't know of Aaliyah's true age when she married the rapper, who has been pelted with several criminal charges on allegations that he sexually abused minors.
Even R. Kelly's own lawyer, Steven Greenberg, said he thought she was 18.
"My understanding is that she did not claim to be 15, and in order to get married, she had to lie about her age," Greenberg told Good Morning America in 2019.
- Julia Fields
WAS AALIYAH PREGNANT?
In Netflix documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, Demetrius had already said that the singer was convinced Aaliyah – who died in a tragic plane crash in 2002 – was carrying his child.
Although it was suspected that Aaliyah was pregnant at the time she married R. Kelly, in 1994, the rumours have never been confirmed.
In her explosive book, Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, released on August 17, 2021, biographer Kathy Iandoli mentions the pregnancy rumours.
"There is speculation that she was pregnant", she wrote, "but he couldn't be held accountable for any crime because she was technically his 'wife.' It was a way to legalise his abuse."
According to Kathy, Aaliyah was coerced into signing a legal document which banned from discussing any "emotional distress" or "physical harm" perpetrated by R. Kelly.
- Julia Fields
AALIYAH WAS 'IN TROUBLE'
On day three of R. Kelly's trial, Demetrius Smith, the disgraced star's former tour manager from 1984 to 1996, told a New York courthouse on August 20, 2021, that Robert Sylvester Kelly suspected the young singer of being "in trouble."
"He said, 'don't call Barry. It's deeper than you think,'" Demetrius remembered. R. Kelly was reportedly referring to his manager and Aaliyah's uncle, Hankerson.
"Robert told me he thought Aaliyah was pregnant," he said.
"That broke my heart because I really believed him when he said he wasn't messing with Aaliyah."
- Julia Fields
HOW DID R. KELLY MARRY AALIYAH?
In 2019, federal prosecutors in New York accused the rapper of bribing an Illinois government employee on August 30, 1994, of getting a fake ID for his 15-year-old spouse to be.
According to the indictment and those familiar with the case, the ID would be used to help Aaliyah get a marriage license that listed her age as 18.
She is listed in federal indictments as "Jane Doe #1."
- Julia Fields
HOW OLD WAS AALIYAH WHEN SHE WAS MARRIED?
Rapper R. Kelly was legally able to marry the singer Aaliyah when she was only 15-years-old.
After a new book claimed Aaliyah did not want to board the plane that led to her untimely death, many wondered about her relationship with the disgraced rapper.
It was revealed during one of R. Kelly's court appearances that the rapper was accused of bribing a government employee to overlook Aaliyah's age.
- Julia Fields
PILOT WITNESS STATEMENT
A pilot who witnessed the crash saw the Cessna go down as he was working on some machinery "about half a mile" away.
He told the investigation that the aircraft was only "60 to 100 feet" off the ground before it crashed.
He went to get a fire truck and was stunned by what he saw upon arriving at the crash site, and said "It was pretty devastating. The aircraft was broken into pieces and some of the seats were thrown from the aircraft."
- Julia Fields
'AWFUL SIGHT'
One witness told investigators: "It was an awful sight. Some bodies were so badly disfigured, you couldn't identify them.
"And two guys were alive — one screaming and screaming for help. He was horribly burned all over."
- Julia Fields
WHO ELSE DIED IN THE PLANE CRASH?
The crash killed the pilot and all eight passengers on board.
Along with Aaliyah, those killed were members of her entourage, including her hairdresser, her bodyguard and a record executive.
The other passenger, a security guard, died shortly afterwards and, according to paramedics, spent his last moments worrying about Aaliyah's condition.
- Julia Fields
WHAT HAPPENED TO AALIYAH?
Aaliya was killed instantly in the crash aged just 22-years-old.
She was scheduled to leave the Bahamas on August 26, 2001 but chose to leave the day before since she had finished early.
That been concerns from the pilot that there was too much weight on the aircraft, but it was decided that the plane would leave anyway.
- Julia Fields
THE PLANE AFTER IT CRASHED
Credit: AP - Julia Fields
PLANE TOOK OFF WHILE OVERLOADED
The following investigation determined that the aircraft had attempted to take off while heavily overloaded – the eight passengers exceeded its certified maximum of seven.
It also emerged that the pilot did not have the required qualifications to fly the aircraft type involved and had falsified relevant documents to obtain his pilot license.
- Julia Fields
WHEN WAS AALIYAH IN A PLANE CRASH?
On August 25, 2001, a Cessna 402 twin-engine light aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport on the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas.
Aaliyah and her entourage were onboard the vessel after they they had just completed filming of a music video and had chartered the flight to return to Florida.
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