R Kelly claims he can't read, says he couldn't properly defend himself in sex abuse case

R Kelly's lawyers have claimed he suffers from a learning disability that contributed to the loss of his sexual abuse case in court

According to TMZ, the controversial singer's legal team alleged he lost the case in which a woman alleged he sexually abused her when she was 16 because he was unable to read.

Lawyers Zaid Abdallah and Raed Shalabi said Kelly "suffers from a learning disability that adversely affects his ability to read... in essence, he cannot".

The legal documents claimed the 'Ignition' hitmaker failed to appear for a court hearing because he didn't know what the serving papers were about. He was served while detained at Cook County Jail for failing to pay child support.

Heather Williams, the alleged victim in the latest lawsuit, won a default judgement against the R&B singer.

The news comes after Kelly was accused of 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse earlier this year, several of which pertained to underage individuals.

Newshub.