R. Kelly has denied sexual abuse allegations against him and said he is fighting for his life after being charged with a string of offenses.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, described the allegations against him as "old rumors" in his first television interview since being indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against four women, three whom were minors at the time. Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges in February.
At one point during the interview with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King, Kelly tearfully looked directly to the camera and exclaimed, "Quit playing. I didn't do this stuff! This is not me! I'm fighting for my f*****g life."
King asked if the 52-year-old has ever held anyone against their will.
"I don't need to," Kelly said. "Why would I? How stupid would it be for R. Kelly, with all I've been through in my way, way past, to hold somebody, let alone four, five, six, 50, you said—how stupid would I be to do that?"
Kelly turned to one of the cameras and said, "Use your common sense. Forget the blogs, forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want to, love me if you want. But just use your common sense. How stupid would it be for me, with my crazy past and what I've been through—oh, right now I just think I need to be a monster, and hold girls against their will, chain them up in my basement, and don't let them eat, and don't let them out."
Ahead of the interview, King also posted a photo to Instagram showing Kelly standing up and apparently waving his arm in an animated fashion while being restrained during another section of the interview.
Kelly also complained that the allegations revolve around people "going back to my past." Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008 after prosecutors alleged that video of him having sex with a 13-year-old girl existed.
"I beat my case. When you beat something, you beat it," Kelly said. "You can't double-jeopardy me like that. You can't. It's not fair. It's not fair to nobody. When you beat your case, you beat your case. "
Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for two of Kelly's alleged victims, responded to the double-jeopardy remark on Twitter.
"Importantly, R. Kelly does NOT deny sexually assaulting underage girls," Avenatti wrote while posting a clip of the interview.
"In fact, his answer demonstrates his guilt. He fails to understand that it doesn't matter 'how long ago' it happened. And he also has no clue as to how 'double jeopardy' works," Avenatti added. "R. Kelly's tears are out of fear and despair. Because he knows that after over two decades of sexually abusing underage girls, we blew this wide open and have him and his enablers dead to rights."
More of the interview will be broadcast on CBS This Morning at 7 a.m. ET Wednesday and Thursday.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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