R. Kelly Girlfriend Azriel Clary Returns Home to Parents

Lorraine Wheat and Jem Aswad

Azriel Clary was 17 years old when she left her parents, Alice and Angelo Clary, to live with R. Kelly. She and Kelly’s other live-in girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage, often spoke publicly in the singer’s defense, even as accusations of sexual abuse against him multiplied in the wake of the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” and he was ultimately arrested on charges in three states; he remains incarcerated in Illinois, awaiting trial.

But after a bizarre physical altercation between Azriel and Savage that was posted on Instagram last week, on Friday, Alice Clary confirmed that her daughter has returned home.

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“The battle is won because she’s still here, she’s still alive, she’s still breathing and though she lost a few years of her life, she’s still here to tell her story,” Alice told People magazine.

Azriel tweeted photographs of her happy reunion with the caption, “This is my face after having White Castles [sic] with my dad.”

Earlier in the week, Clary — pictured top left outside a Brooklyn courthouse with Savage in August, where they had appeared to support Kelly at his arraignment — said she had gone to Chicago not to support Kelly but in an effort to help Savage, tweeting, “He purposely separated use because he knew I’d try to make her go home.”

However, the visit ended in a physical altercation between the two that resulted in Savage being arrested for assault. During it, Clary threatened to have Savage arrested for having sexual relations with a minor (Clary was underaged at the time). Kelly’s accusers have said frequently that he persuaded them to have sex with other women.

The Instagram Live feed continued the recording up to Joycelyn’s arrest, with Clary engaging with viewers while recording.

Savage was released on bond Thursday and is due back in court at some point in the coming weeks. According to TMZ, Savage met with her parents for the first time in three years at the courthouse.

Clary tweeted on Friday, “No one ever wakes up and says, ‘Today, I’m going to be manipulated or taken advantage of.”

Clary’s parents shared their daughter’s sexual abuse story in “Surviving R. Kelly.” Her mother said she was initially hesitant to be a part of the production.

“To be honest, I didn’t even want to do the documentary,” Alice Clary told People, “and that’s why I didn’t do ‘Part II,’” which aired last week. “Because my daughter is a victim in this situation and unfortunately the media and the world that we live in, they honestly do not favor the victim and unfortunately regardless of what people say, my daughter has always been a victim.”

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