LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer R. Kelly on Monday denied an article by US media outlet BuzzFeed News that he was keeping a household of young women in a "cult"atmosphere.

He will "work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name", his attorney Linda Mensch said.

Kelly has not been charged with any crime.

BuzzFeed said it stood behind the story "which was based on nine months of interviews and old-fashioned investigative reporting".

The article had interviews with two families and three former associates of Kelly.

It quoted one mother as saying the set-up was a "cult" and noted that all the women were over the age of consent. Some family members expressed frustration at limited communication with their daughters.

Two families had sought help from police but the women have rebuffed attempts by authorities or their parents to investigate or take them home.

Kelly is one of the most successful R&B artistes of the last two decades, with three Grammy awards, 12 studio albums and some 40 million records sold worldwide.