R. Kelly’s Ex-Manager, Donnel Russell, has been sentenced to one year in federal prison for calling in a shooting threat at a New York theater in 2018 to stop a screening of the damaging docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.

Donnel Russell, who briefly managed the disgraced R&B star as he faced growing sexual abuse allegations, was sentenced for his crime in a New York court on Monday (December 19), according to the news.

As the judge handed down his sentence, Russell claimed he is not a “horrible person,” but admitted to making “bad judgments” during his time working with Kelly, who himself is behind bars.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe, however, condemned the 47-year-old as someone who took part in “serious criminal conduct” in “a misguided attempt to protect someone who was a prolific abuser.”
In his phone call, Russell claimed someone at the event had a gun and intended to open fire. The theater was subsequently evacuated and the screening called off.
“I was happy that it ended. I didn’t question how it ended,” Russell said of the canceled premiere during his sentencing hearing.