R. Kelly’s Girlfriends Defended Him While He Reportedly Watched Just Off-Camera

Earlier this week, the first half of a two-part interview with R. Kelly aired on CBS This Morning. Safe to say, it didn’t go well.

In it, Kelly — who has been accused of 10 counts of aggravated abuse, and has a long history of alleged indiscretions with a minor — denied all allegations while crying, shouting and, at one moment, leaping out of his chair to scream at host Gayle King, who sat calmly.

Now, the second half of the interview has been posted online. For the second half, Kelly returned to his position in front of the camera, this time to argue that he has been exploited by those around him. His two girlfriends, whose parents say have been ‘brainwashed’ by Kelly, also defended him on-camera.

Claiming that he has less than half a million dollars to his name, the musician stated that he is a victim of manipulators around him. “So many people have been stealin’ my money,” Kelly said.

“People was connected to my account. I went into – I went by myself for the first time to a Bank of America. Didn’t know what I was doing. Didn’t know what the hell was going on.”

*Checks in on part 2 of R Kelly's interview from this morning* pic.twitter.com/Wk5PO9LhTU

— Consequence of Sound (@consequence) March 7, 2019

From there, Kelly discussed his two girlfriends, Azriel Clary and Jocelyn Savage.

When prompted to discuss that they were both almost half his age, Kelly was quick to re-divert the conversation. “I don’t look at much younger than me, I just look at legal,” he said.

Later on, Clary and Savage sat down in front of the cameras and were invited to discuss their relationship with the singer. But for the most part, they clammed up. They argued for their privacy when King asked about the specific nature of their relationships with Kelly, and gave curt responses when pressed as to why their parents have been so critical of their domestic set-up.

“My parents knew where I have always been … for four years,” Clary said. “I’ve been well-taken care of.”

Later on in the interview, Clary claimed that her parents encouraged her to take sexual videos with Kelly so that they might blackmail him later. This, she explained, is why they have taken to the media to denounce the musician.

Kelly’s representatives had previously promised that he wouldn’t be in the room when the two young women were interviewed. But, according to King, the musician stepped into the room halfway through the recorded chat, coughed repeatedly to announce his presence to them, and then repeatedly tried to end the interview.

If true, the behaviour fits with the pattern that Kelly has established over the last few days. Rather than seek contrition or forgiveness, the R’n’B singer has instead doubled down on the mix of weaponised emotional outbursts, control, and anger that he has so long been accused of using to hurt so many alleged victims.

The musician is currently in custody due to unpaid child support.