BARTOW, Fla. — Asante McGee, one of the women who accused R. Kelly of sexual abuse in the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly was in Bartow as the keynote speaker of the ‘I Gotchu Girl Ladies Luncheon.’

The luncheon featured stories from women who are survivors of child molestation and abuse. Organizers encouraged the attendees, mostly African American, to refrain from keeping secrets about sexual abuse happening in the family.

McGee shared with the crowd of 100 about her childhood, riddled with physical abuse by her mother. She said it was so bad she signed herself up for foster care. From there, she went on to become a single mom and marry a man that she said turned into an abusive husband.

“Every now and then he’d hit me, then he’d apologized. He wouldn’t hit me every day -- he would hit me every few months,”

She said when she joined the Army and was stationed in Fort Drum, which is when her relationship with her husband really turned ugly. She said he was cheating on her and abusing her, but she stayed with him for 11 years because he was paying the bills.

“I always just blamed myself, and I kept asking God, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ I’m like, ‘My mama abused me,’” Asante McGee during her speech.

McGee said she left him and in 2014, started dating Robert Kelly, also known as the R&B singer “R. Kelly.” She said they talked about the abuse they both endured, and he promised to never hurt her.

For two years they dated, and she said Kelly wined and dined her. Her family who had all but abandoned her came back into the picture, asking for money. She said she gave it to them, paid their bills -- whatever they asked.

Then she said she moved into R. Kelly’s home in the summer 2016, and that’s when the relationship came to an end.

“I was able to recognize that I was being abused by him as well, as the other girls, and I was able to leave immediately,” said McGee.

McGee said she only stayed in the home for three weeks. She chose not to go into detail with the crowd about what happened in that home during that time.

R. Kelly has denied all allegations of abuse. He was indicted in February on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.

Aftermath of the Docuseries

By the time she finished her speech, she was in tears, describing the aftermath of what’s happened to her since she appeared in Surviving R. Kelly.

“I feel like I’m the most hated survivor. I get the biggest backlash out of the seven survivors on the (docuseries),” McGee said.

“I came forward to stop what he’s been doing, because he’s constantly paying people off. People getting scared and stuff … “ she said.

McGee continued, “The first week of the documentary, I cried for at least six hours. I didn’t want to talk to nobody. I didn’t want to do anything. You know people think … that oh, we’re trying  to get famous. But who wants to share these embarrassing moments. ‘Oh you were an adult, you know what you were doing.’ Abuse doesn’t have an age. Stop thinking because I was 35 when I got with this man that I knew better. He preys on the weak,” McGee told the crowd.

The women at the event were so moved by her testimony, they prayed for her afterwards.

As for what she wants to happen to R. Kelly, she shared a few thoughts.

“(I hope) he’s held accountable for his actions and he gets the help that he needs and most importantly, let those girls that are home with him to actually visit their families and go back home with their families,” McGee said.

McGee said she’s traveling across the country, speaking to women and sharing with them her new book No Longer Trapped in the Closet: The Asante McGee Story. It details her relationship with R. Kelly, as well as the abuse she said she endured before she met him.