Shamed R Kellywas defiant in the first interview since he was granted £76,000 bail in Chicago – and claimed he was ‘fighting for his fucking life’ after giving us all ‘thirty years of his career.’ In the explosive interview, where he was questioned by CBS This Morning’s Gayle King, the singer remained unapologetic and repeatedly claimed he was innocent of sexual abuse charges. Kelly, who broke down in tears, insisted that he was not guilty of 10 charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four women, three of which were underage.
R Kelly has been accused of sexual assault for decades, ever since then-27-year-old married 15-year-old Aaliyah in 1994, his alleged abuse of young black girls has been an open secret. In 2002, Kelly went on trial for 21 counts of child pornography – but the singer was found not guilty on all counts. A lengthy Buzzfeed reportin July 2017 accused the singer of operating a sex "cult". And in January’s documentary, Surviving R Kelly, 54 survivors allege various abuses - emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as coercive control and the rape of minors - at the hands of the self-pronounced ‘Pied Piper of R&B’. R Kelly has denied all the allegations. But, two weeks after the documentary aired, he was dropped by his record label RCA.
In the shocking interview, he laments those who have made accusations against him on social media, which put pressure on him being ditched with the #MuteRKelly campaign. “You can start a rumor on a guy like me or a celebrity just like that,” he said. “All you have to do is push a button on your phone and say so and so did this to me, R. Kelly did this to me, and if you get any traction from that, if you’re able to write a book from that, if you’re able to get a reality show… then any girl that I had a relationship in the past that it just didn’t work out, she can come and say the same exact thing.”
He also starts a furious monologue, claiming that people who think he committed the crimes are ‘stupid’ and should ‘stop playing’, due to his own history of being abused. The star was the victim of child sex abuse, and he wrote in his autobiography how he was raped by a female family member when he was eight. He raged, standing up: “Stop it. You all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my fucking life! Y’all killing me with this shit! I gave you 30 years of my fucking career! Thirty years of my career! And y’all trying to kill me? You killing me, man! This is not about music! I’m trying to have a relationship with my kids! And I can’t do it! Y’all just don’t want to believe the truth! You don’t want to believe it!”
Kelly faces three to seven years in jail – for each crime - if he is convicted. His next court date is scheduled for March 22.