R. Kelly is getting emotional in his first TV interview following his arrest for sexual abuse charges against him relating to four women, three of whom were teenagers when the alleged involvement occurred. R. Kelly sat down with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King to discuss his ongoing case and express his innocence.
“They are still talking about you with underaged girls. Do you still sit here and say you have never been with underage girls? Can you really say that?” asked King.
“I will tell you this. People are going back to the past. Okay?” said Kelly. “That’s exactly what they’re doing. They’re going back to the past and they’re trying to add all of this stuff now to that, to make all of this stuff going on now feel real to people.”
Deeper into the interview, Kelly began to cry as he told King that he was not guilty of abusing young girls throughout his musical career or for allegedly holding women against their will.
“That’s stupid! Use your common sense. Forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want to, love me if you want. Just use your common sense,” he added. “How stupid would it be for me, with my crazy past and what I have been through in my way-way past? […] That’s stupid guys. Use your common sense.
“Oh, right now I need to be a monster and hold girls against their will and chain them in my basement and don’t let them eat and don’t let them out? Unless they need some shoes from their uncle. Stop it! You all quit playin’.”
“I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me, y’all. I am fighting for my f**king life!” he yelled emotionally into the camera.
NEW: R&B singer R. Kelly, charged with aggravated sexual abuse, angrily denied the accusations in a new interview with @GayleKing, insisting the claims are “rumors” & “not true.”
Kelly has pleaded not guilty; see the first clips here & watch @CBSThisMorning Wednesday at 7a ET. pic.twitter.com/5yT1QwPsIq
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 5, 2019
The disgraced R&B singer also noted that he was acquitted of child pornography charges nearly 10 years ago.”Old rumors, new rumors, future rumors. Not true,” he continued.
“You can’t double jeopardy me. That’s not fair. When you beat your case, you beat your case,” he said, referring the acquittal.”
As previously reported, R. Kelly was charged on 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse in Feb. 2019. He spent three days in jail before his friend, Valencia Love, posted his $100,000 bond. Kelly has been ordered not to have contact with any of the alleged victims, witnesses, or anyone under the age of 18. He is due in court on March 22, 2019.
Parts of the one hour and 20-minute interview aired on CBS This Morning on Wednesday (Mar. 6). Watch one clip above as well as his on-camera breakddown in the clips below.
“Stop it. You all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my f***ing life! Y’all killing me with this sh*t!” @RKelly told @GayleKing, standing up. “I gave you 30 years of my f***ing career!”https://t.co/u4AENVJQsc pic.twitter.com/jLF7l8etYh
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 6, 2019