R. Kelly Addresses Ex-Wife, Financial Situation in Gayle King CBS Interview Part 2
The second part of R. Kelly’s conversation with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning” aired today. It’s Kelly’s first interview since being arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois.
In the new clips, Kelly discussed his financial situation, telling King that “people have been stealing my money.” According to CBS, the first time he went into a branch of his bank alone to assess his finances was February 21, only a day before he was arrested on charges of sexual abuse on February 22. He told King that he was in the midst of moving $350,000 between bank accounts when he was arrested.
Kelly—who was taken into police custody last night in Chicago after failing to pay $161,000 in child support—addressed his child support situation as well, bursting into tears and beginning to yell. “How can I pay child support? How? If my ex-wife [Andrea Kelly] 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?” he exclaimed.
Kelly also unequivocally denied ever abusing Andrea Kelly, who has previously accused the singer of domestic abuse during their marriage. “She's not telling the truth. I have nothing against her, that is my kids’ mother... I'm not disrespecting her by saying she's not telling the truth, I'm just being honest.” Kelly then grew agitated again: “Someone sent me something on my phone saying that I hogtied her. I don't know how to hogtie people! Why would I do that? 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?”
Joycelyn Savage (age 21) and Azriel Clary (23)—two women who live with Kelly, who the singer regards as his “girlfriends”—reaffirmed their relationships with Kelly while sitting down with King. (Despite an agreement that to the contrary, Kelly was allowed into the room during their interviews, King says.) Clary, who met Kelly when she was 17, denied ever having sex with him while underage. “When I first met Robert, my parents told me to lie about my age. So when I met him, he thought that was 18,” she said, claiming that her parents wanted explicit materials to blackmail Kelly. “When I was 17, my parents were trying to get me to take photos with him, sexual videos with him, all kinds of stuff.” Pitchfork has emailed “CBS: This Morning” representatives for comment on Kelly’s presence during their interview.
Kelly, Savage, and Clary all deny that Kelly ever promised any sort of music mentorship for the women, with Kelly claiming that Joycelyn Savage’s mother was the one who pushed for the young woman to pursue singing. Clary also stated that she attempted suicide as a result of her parents pressuring her into pursuing music. (CBS confirmed via medical records that Clary did attempt to take her own life, but reported that according to concurrent notes from her doctor, the suicide attempt was due to a bad breakup with a boyfriend.)
After the airing of the March 7 episode of “CBS This Morning,” the celebrity attorney Michael J. Avenatti, who is representing Azriel Clary’s parents Alice Angelo, released the following statement:
An extended version of King’s interview with Kelly will air as an hour-long primetime special on CBS this Friday, March 8 at 8 p.m. ET. During part one of the interview, Kelly addressed his relationships with Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary and responded to allegations made in the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly.”
On February 22, Kelly turned himself in to authorities and pled not guilty. He was released from jail on bond on February 25. The charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred between 1998 to 2010. They involve three underage girls and one 24-year-old woman.
R. Kelly was recently sued by a woman named Heather Williams—a separate case. Williams claims Kelly sexually abused her in 1998 when she was 16.
Read “The Struggle to Silence R. Kelly” on the Pitch.
