Why was R. Kelly rushed to the hospital? Perez Hilton doesn't think "Diddy 1.0's" life is in danger despite suspected "murder plot" & overdosing

Pop culture commentator Perez Hilton recently commented on singer R. Kelly's hospitalization, which happened on June 13, 2025. R. Kelly, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 30 years for several charges, including sexual exploitation of children, was rushed to the hospital after he was allegedly overdosed on medication by prison staff. USA Today obtained the June 17 filings by the singer's lawyers.

As per the filing, Kelly's lawyers alleged that the singer was put in solitary confinement, and on June 12, the prison staff gave him an overdose of his sleep and anxiety medication. The lawyers alleged that the overdose caused him to feel dizzy in the morning, and he was eventually hospitalized on June 13.

Hilton reacted to this news in a June 17 video uploaded on his YouTube channel in which he referred to R. Kelly as "Diddy 1.0." In the video, Hilton raised eyebrows at this legal move of Kelly's lawyers and said he didn't believe in Kelly's claims.

"Kelly believes his life is still in danger, claiming another member of the gang had subsequently been asked to off him and Stein [Kelly's fellow prison inmate]. It remains to be seen if this latest attempt will work, but the murder plot claims don't seem to be winning anyone over just yet. Do you think his life is really in danger? I don't," Hilton said.

---

Perez Hilton questions R. Kelly's overhearing of a prison officer's complaint while he was unconscious

In the June 17 video, Perez Hilton, who referred to Kelly as "Diddy 1.0," reported on the aforementioned court filings. He further questioned how the singer could overhear the crucial alleged information while he was unconscious.

"[R. Kelly] was later rushed to the Duke University Hospital and claims that during the drive there he overheard a prison officer complain, quote, 'This is going to open up a whole new can of worms.' Wait, how did he overhear that if he lost consciousness, he miraculously regained it to hear that very important piece of alleged information?" Hilton said.

Hilton further questioned why the singer took an extra dose of medicine, which he was taking regularly.

"Let me give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's say that was true. If you've been taking, I don't know, two pills a night for a long time, and if all of a sudden now you get three or four, wouldn't you think that's odd? I mean, he's not the brightest, but also he would take some accountability," he added.

---

Looking at the similarity between R. Kelly and Diddy's trial, as the podcaster referred to Kelly as "Diddy 1.0"

This is not the first time that people have drawn parallels between Diddy and R. Kelly. Ever since Diddy was arrested in September 2024 over the charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, multiple reports have been surfacing comparing their cases. As per CNN, both rappers were pressed with charges under RICO.

A former federal prosecutor told CNN that, in both cases, at the core, it is alleged that a "superstar" used money and power to carry out "serious sexual violence crimes."

In Rolling Stone's May 23 article, the former prosecutor Elizabeth Geddes also compared Diddy's case with R. Kelly's. Geddes wrote that sex traffickers often resort to "physical and psychological abuse" over a long period to "bend" victims' will.

Geddes further noted that in such cases, victims "accede to abusers' demands" and are afraid of the consequences of "refusing."

"I saw this when I was a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and prosecuted R&B musician R. Kelly for coercing women and girls to perform sexual services for his own gratification. Combs’ alleged behavior also fits this script," Geddes wrote, referring to Diddy's ongoing trial.

---

In a recent interview with TMZ, R. Kelly's lawyer, Beau Brindley, told the publication that the singer empathizes with Diddy, who is also facing similar racketeering charges.