Emotions continued to run high in the full version of Gayle King’s explosive interview with embattled singer R. Kelly, in an interview that is already being described as the ‘biggest interview of the year.’
As R. Kelly’s saga continues, he was arrested the day after he sat for his interview with Gayle King, over charges of failing to pay over $160,000 in back child support to his ex-wife, Andrea Kelly.
During his sit down, the singer cried to King about his financial woes.
Kelly claimed that he’s been unable to make payments because of his ex-wife’s vendetta against him.
“How can I pay child support? How?! If my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can’t work? How can I work? How can I get paid? How can I take care of my kids? How?” he said through tears.
The singer was referring to claims made by his ex-wife in the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” where Andrea claimed that she suffered through years of abuse throughout their thirteen-year marriage.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
King asked R. Kelly point blank about the current state of his relationship with his kids, and he tearfully confessed, saying he has “zero” relationship with them, blaming that, in partc, on the “brainwashing” they received from his ex-wife, Andrea.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
He explained, “What kind of woman would tear down a dad who’s trying to have a relationship with their kids? You know how many kids need a relationship with their father?”
The singer also admitted that he has about $350,000 left to his name. He only recently discovered after going into a bank (for the first time) that people have been stealing money from him all these years.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
However, he did concede that a lot of the- not knowing his own financial status -was due to his own fault, admitting to King that “a lot of it’s on me.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In the meantime, he vehemently denied that a lot of his money has gone to pay out settlements as alleged in court documents, that have claimed he settled three lawsuits with women who’ve alleged that he had sexual relationships with them while they were minors.
However, Kelly outright denied ever sleeping with any underage girls-ever.
King also spoke with Kelly’s girlfriends Azriel Clary, 21, and Joycelyn Savage, 23, who defended their love for Kelly and his innocence, denying their parents’ claims that they have been brainwashed by the singer and revealing that it is their parents who have a shocking agenda.
King told Clary she spoke with her father the day before their interview.
“He says, ‘My daughter is brainwashed,’ and he’s very concerned. He said he was here two days ago, and you wouldn’t even look him in the eye,” King said.
“Okay, I wouldn’t look him in the eye because he’s a liar. He’s a manipulative liar,” Clary said.
Clary made the shocking claims that her parents tried to persuade her to help them blackmail Kelly by advising her to set him up by taking sexually explicit pictures and videos with the singer.
Kelly claimed that The Clarys approached him numerous times with requests to finance business opportunities for their family.
Those accusations, however, were flatly denied by Azriel’s father at a press conference this week, with his attorney Michael Avenatti.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Elsewhere in the interview, King also sat down with Joycelyn’s parents, Tim and Jonjelyn, who said they too, have never received any money from R. Kelly.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Tim Savage told King he never brought his daughter to meet R. Kelly and never met the singer in person. He did reveal that he’s only spoken to Kelly once by phone to ask him about the welfare of his daughter and that Kelly told him that he needed to “trust the process,” a possible reference to helping Joycelyn with her singing career.
A career they say they supported and believed R. Kelly could mentor based on his 2008 acquittal. Joycelyn’s mother admitted that she made the mistake of “separating the man from the artist.”
The Savages are still not convinced that their daughter is not brainwashed after seeing the interview and they continue to fear for her safety.
The family revealed that after clips the interview began burning up social media, they were finally able to speak to 23-year-old Joycelyn by phone, it was the first time hearing from her in 2 ½ years.
They believe that she was “reading from a prepared script” or that someone was there with her monitoring their call. There was a touching and telling moment in the clip shown of their phone call when Joycelyn’s younger sister Jori chimed into her big sister she loved her. It seemed to startle her and Joycelyn paused for about 10 seconds and rushed off the phone soon after. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Michelle Kramer, the mother who rescued her daughter, Dominique Garner, in the riveting “Surviving R. Kelly” docu-series, called Kelly’s interview a “circus act” and told CBS News that her daughter almost threw the remote at the television as they sat and watched the interview.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Kramer said that her daughter told her horror stories about being beaten and starved for days by the singer as punishment for not following his rules.
“My daughter was 98 pounds when she came home, but when she left to go with him- she was 120 pounds- so you do the math.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Kelly denied accusations that he was controlling by clarifying that he is only in control of his household. He told Gayle King that he considers himself “the king of his castle and any woman he’s with are the queen (of his castle).”
The news special featured some of the same faces from the “Surviving R. Kelly” docu-series, but it also revealed some interesting new information as well.
We learn that some of the so-called evidence in these new charges against Kelly are related to the same young woman who was alleged to be featured in the original video and trial.
And Kelly is also being excused of sexual misconduct by a 24-year-old woman, who once worked for him as a hairdresser and that woman claims to have retained DNA evidence that backs up her claims of an assault.
The singer is adamant that he will be vindicated of all charges once he has his turn in court (again) and that this is all just a smear campaign against him by women (some of whom he doesn’t even remember ever having relations with).
R. Kelly’s next court date is scheduled for March 13th.
