R. Kelly's business manager, Derrel McDavid, was identified by Lisa Van Allen today as the man who paid her and another man $20,000 each to turn over a copy of an R. Kelly sex tape.
McDavid has been in court most days during the trial, often sitting next to Kelly at the defense table, whispering discreetly in the star's ear. He was in court again this morning, but he'd gone by the time his name came up.
When Van Allen mentioned his name, it reminded me of a passing encounter I witnessed a couple of weeks ago during jury selection. MTV News writer Jennifer Vineyard grabbed McDavid in the corridor outside the court and, noting that he'd been talking to Kelly, asked who he was.
His response?
"I don't exist."
It was all very reminiscent of a courtroom scene in the classic 1976 Watergate film, "All The President's Men." In the film, reporter Bob Woodward, played by Robert Redford, talks to a man who's sitting in the public benches, watching the Watergate burglars appear before a judge for the first time.
When Woodward asks the man if he's there for the Watergate case, he gives a reply similar to McDavid's.
"I'm not here," he says.
If you want to see it yourself, the scene is 53 seconds into this trailer.
janssen, nice link. who's going to play you if this becomes a movie? ask sam jr who's good at casting this kind of thing.