For many of the women in the audience at a screening of the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly last night, the moment was deeply personal.

These women, some accompanied by their parents, and others whose voices appeared in the Lifetime documentary series, were some of the hip hop artist’s alleged victims. (Despite years of allegations against him, specifically to do with underage sex, R. Kelly continues to deny every account.) Some had travelled across the country to be in the room that evening.

They gathered at the NeuHouse cinema in New York to watch the documentary before it airs to the public next year. Produced by Lifetime, Surviving R. Kelly bills itself as the first documentary to bring together a number of his victims, as well as those in his “inner circle”, to discuss further allegations of abuse against the artist.

The premiere of the Surviving R. Kelly documentary was cancelled because of threats