R. Kelly's 'CBS This Morning' Interview Had 6 Emotionally Explosive Moments
The moment of R. Kelly's public confrontation of the sexual abuse allegations piled against him arrived on Wednesday (March 6) with the airing of several moments from his dangerously anticipated CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King.
Kelly sits down in what CBS named a nearly hour-and-a-half conversation to confront the burning questions about the current and former allegations and instances involving the alleged sexual, physical and mental abuse of underage girls throughout his career. Kelly begins the interview rather composed, answering King's direct questions about why he's now opted to address the allegations and whether they are true.
But as the conversation delves deeper into more sensitive territory, such as Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly documentary, his controversial relationship with current "girlfriends" (he names them) Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary, his accusers and the legal storm clouding around his life, Kelly becomes increasingly madcap until he finally blows a fuse.
After catching some of the conversation via clips released by CBS, here are some of the most outlandish statements and scenes from the interview leading up to that detonating moment:
Kelly alleges that he chose to do the interview after the allegations began stacking up everywhere
"I'm very tired of all of the lies," he begins. "I've been hearing things and seeing things on the blogs, and you know, I'm just tired." He appears to be taken aback by "all of them," including the sex cult allegations and rumors of law enforcement tactics to rescue them.
Kelly alleges that Joycelyn Savage's parents 'sold' her to him...
"I didn't go looking for a Joycelyn Savage," he said, explaining how it went down at the first concert where he met her. "[Her father] brought her and asked a friend of mine to put her on the stage with R. Kelly, make sure she's on the stage. I'm going to answer your question. What kind of father, what kind of mother, will sell their daughter to a man?" Kelly said.
"How come it was OK for me to see them until they wasn't getting no money from me? Why would you take your daughter, if I'm going to take my daughter and she's 19 years old to a 49-year-old icon, whatever, celebrity or R. Kelly concert or whoever it is, I'm not going to put her on the stage and leave her. I'm going to take her to the concert. Their father is more into my music and know about my music than they do."
Kelly also claims that he doesn't "look at much younger than [him], he just looks at legal" after explaining that 23-year-old Savage and 21-year-old Clary are his girlfriends.
Kelly is disturbed that 'nobody said nothing good' about him in the 'Survivng R. Kelly' documentary
"Everybody says something bad about me," he says of the Lifetime documentary. "Nobody said nothing good. They were describing Lucifer. I'm not Lucifer. I'm a man. I make mistakes, but I'm not a devil, and by no means am I a monster."
He appears to deflect from King's question about why all of the people included in the documentary would lie about him as he argues how quickly rumors and lies can spread in the digital age with a press of a button.
- advertisement
Kelly alleges that he's being 'assassinated'...
And that all of the women are lying. He also holds firm to the claim that he's never had sex with anyone under the age of 17.
Kelly alleges that he's 'definitely talking about' seeking therapy...
In what's being considered the most explosive scene from the interview...
Kelly tearfully and vehemently declared his innocence. "Stop it," he insists. "Y'all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn't do this stuff! This is not me! I'm fighting for my f**king life! Y'all killing me with this sh**!"
Kelly proceeds to stand up from his chair while yelling expletives to the camera as tears gush down his face. His outburst becomes so unbridled that King attempts to get his attention and an unidentified member on set grabs him to calm him down. King says that the production halted for a break during this moment as well, allowing Kelly to recollect himself.
- advertisement
And while Gayle maintained her composure, the internet did not...
Nor do they buy a single word from Kelly's enraged, impassioned testimonies:
- advertisement
- advertisement
- advertisement
- advertisement