Excerpt from Ne-Yo Essence interview

Ne-Yo: Still Standing
After his dismissal from a national tour, R&B sensation Ne-Yo opens up about what really happened between him and The Pied Piper
By Kenya N. Byrd

Credit: Ellen VonUnwerth

Essence.com: Wow. So would you be willing to sit down and talk if he ever reached out to you?

N.Y.: Absolutely, I don’t hate R. Kelly. There won’t be no diss records—we don’t do that in R&B. Seriously, I looked up to R. Kelly as an artist, and still do, but I don’t have respect for him as a man. I was happy to join the tour. I’m a man, so I don’t disrespect other men. I would still be open to talk to him. But his not coming to me directly was blatant disrespect, because he didn’t even view me as someone important enough to show respect to by talking to me man-to-man. If you have issues with me, then be man enough to come to me personally, but instead he had his people do it and then they said it wasn’t him but that the promoters asked me to be removed from the tour and that’s b---sh--.

Essence.com: You’ve been the target of many rumors, but I love that you keep it moving. Let’s address the rumor regarding your financial dispute with your son’s mom, who was supposedly getting evicted due to your refusing to pay child support. Is that true?

N.Y.: There is truth to some of it. She was being evicted because I refused to pay her rent any longer once I found out her child was not my biological son. But I’ve been his father since the day he came on his earth so I told her anything he needs I got him, but you are a grown a-- woman with working arms and legs—ain’t nothing wrong with you so go get yourself a job.

Essence.com: Why in the world would she try to take you to court after you agreed to give financial support in raising her son?

N.Y.: She wasn’t happy with the amount I offered to give her and said, ‘No, I need more.’ So she decided to take me to court. I asked her why and told her she wouldn’t win because he was not my biological son. So I said, ‘Fine, you get nothing. Let’s go to court.’

Essence.com: Whoa! So why did you wait to get a blood test?

N.Y.: Well, she told me when she got pregnant that it could be between me and another guy, so I knew that from the beginning. When the baby was born everyone assumed that he was mine because he looked so much like me so no one really questioned it except my mother because she never trusted her and urged me to get a blood test.

Essence.com: How did that discovery affect you?

N.Y.: It hurt me for a minute, but you know....

Essence.com: Do you still see him?

N.Y.: No, because she doesn’t allow me to, so what can I do? As a mother she has the right, I don’t.

Essence.com: Fortunately, your mom encouraged you to get a blood test done. You’ve said that your mom always looks out and was even ready to knuckle up when rumors first surfaced about you being gay.

N.Y.: (Laughs) Yeah, my mom is my dawg. When she heard the rumors that I was gay she was like, ‘Who do I have to pay a visit? Who’s a-- do I have to kick?’

Essence.com: And your initial reaction to folks questioning your sexuality?

N.Y.: Honestly, when I first heard that there were rumors out there about me being gay I thought, Wow someone must really hate me. There’s nothing wrong with being gay, but I just couldn’t understand why someone would make up lies like that. I remember speaking to Jay-Z about it and he was like, ‘Look, man you haven’t made it until someone says you’re gay.”

Essence.com: And what about now?

N.Y.: Nah, I don’t even think about that mess anymore. Once it’s said, it ain’t nothing you can do but ignore it.

Essence.com: Once you addressed the rumor that you and Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader from Heroes) were dating and offered an explanation as to why there were photos of the two of you hand-in-hand— you were helping her out of her car so she wouldn’t mess up her shoes—they really continued with the gay comments.

N.Y.: (Laughs) Okay, so because I can respect a woman’s shoe game, and not to mention that I’ve bought a few pairs of shoes in the past for the women in my life, that makes me gay? That’s hilarious.

Essence.com: Well, before you go, I have to go in the crate and dust off an old scandal regarding the photo, which shows you and a young lady being graphically intimate.

N.Y.: Oh yeah, that’s really old. Someone hacked into a phone and retrieved that photo and put it on the Internet.

Essence.com: So did the young lady freak out because she was caught in an uncompromising position?

N.Y.: Nah, I’m grown, she grown. I just need to be more careful where I put my personal things. Besides it’s grown-folks business. It ain’t the first photo and it sure won’t be the last.