Mary J. Blige protests spousal support order at Essence Fest

Mary J. Blige publicly protested her estranged husband's spousal support request during her headlining set at the 2017 Essence Fest, questioning why she should have to pay for his alleged infidelities.

The R&B icon was recently ordered to hand over $30,000 (£23,000)-a-month in temporary support to her ex, Martin 'Kendu' Isaacs, after filing legal papers to end their 12-year marriage in July, 2016.

Blige claims her former manager betrayed her by having an affair with her protegee, singer Starshell, and she channelled her heartache into her new album, Strength of a Woman.

The No More Drama hitmaker has been vocal about her marriage breakdown since filing for divorce, and on Saturday night (01Jul17), she used her show in New Orleans, Louisiana to offer up a little advice on love to her audience, reports People.com.

"You can't have two queens," she told her male fans, as she shared a few words of wisdom about how to treat a woman.

She continued, "For me ladies, I'm a little crazy - maybe a lot - but I'm more selfish with my relationships. And (what) I will not appreciate is my man coming home comparing me to Suzy on the job... Don't ever compare me to nobody (sic) because there's only one Mary J. Blige out there."

Blige then took aim at Isaacs, without directly naming him, as she criticised a U.S. judge's decision to award her ex financial support.

"How is it that somebody gets to cheat and destroy everybody's life but I've got to pay for it?" she told the crowd. "That ain't fair (sic)!"

Blige has been using her onstage performances to work through the pain of her split, recently giving emotional renditions of Love Yourself and Set Me Free, which detail her marriage woes, at the BET Awards in Los Angeles.

After the televised set on 25 June (17), Isaacs took to Instagram to reach out to the singer in an attempt to put an end to their fighting.

"I love you to death Mary J. Blige, I can't even begin to understand why you are going on about this the way you have been," he wrote. "I never wanted to discuss our life airing the laundry. You know me better than that. You and I really need to talk and stop all this negative nonsense. I love you and I always will regardless of your actions."

He also vowed it is time for him to "tell the truth" in another post, although he has yet to share his side of the story. musicnews.com