Lady Gaga apologizes for collaborating with R. Kelly, pulls duet from streaming

Lady Gaga is pulling her 2013 song with R. Kelly, "Do What U Want (With My Body)" from streaming services.

It comes after pressure on the pop star to condemn Kelly, whose history of alleged sexual abuse has come under the spotlight again due to the release of Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.

In a statement via Twitter, Gaga affirmed her support for Kelly's accusers, and vowed to never work with the singer again.

"I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously," she wrote.

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Gaga had come under scrutiny in 2013 when she decided to collaborate with Kelly, despite his alleged history of sexual misconduct, performing the song together at the American Music Awards that same year. She also commented on the partnership during a press conference in Japan.

"R. Kelly and I have sometimes very untrue things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us," she said at the time. "That we were able to say, the public, they can have our bodies, but they cannot have our mind or our heart. It was a really natural collaboration."

In Gaga's latest tweet, however, she explained her regret over the duet.

"As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and video at a dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life," she wrote.

"The song is called 'Do What U Want (With My Body),' I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time."

Gaga added that she intends to remove the song from iTunes and other streaming platforms, and apologized.

"I'm sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner. I love you," she ended the statement.

The song also has an alternate version with Christina Aguilera, which was released at a time when R. Kelly's behavior was the focal point of a Village Voice story in 2013.

If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.