R. Kelly ‘cult’ claims and past controversies
Singer R. Kelly is accused of holding women in a “cult.” Here’s a look back at the Grammy-winner's past controversies
R. Kelly burst into tears in a second segment of his "CBS This Morning" interview with Gayle King that aired Thursday morning, lashing out at abuse allegations from his ex-wife.
King began her questioning by asking about Kelly's finances, asking the singer if it was true he was worth $100 million.
"I wish that was true," Kelly said.
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The "Ignition" singer claimed that he'd never been in a bank until just before his arrest this year on sexual abuse charges, claiming he always had others doing it for him and that they stole his money.
"Here's the deal. So many people have been stealing my money — people was connected to my account," he told King. "I went by myself for the first time to Bank of America, didn't know I was doing, didn't know what the hell was going on ... because I was so tired of not knowing where my money was, where my publishing is."
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He said allegations that he lost the bulk of his money on settlements and hush money in sex abuse cases was a "lie."
Gayle King and R. Kelly on "CBS This Morning" (CBS)
"I had like, $350,000 in the bank," he recalled, "and I told her, 'Look, take that, I wanna start a new account and that's the way it is.'" He says the bank teller told him it'd take six to seven days to clear — and during that time he was arrested and jailed.
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On Wednesday night, Kelly was jailed for owing more than $160,000 in back child support, to which he fumed, "How can I pay child support? How? If my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can't work?"
Kelly sobbed and screamed, "Common sense!" He grew hysterical when discussing his ex-wife Andrea Kelly, who accused him of physical abuse.
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"I flew in on a helicopter with a damn puppy and I proposed to Drea who I was in love with and told her, 'Hey look, I make mistakes, I'm not perfect.' We got married," he said. "We had three beautiful kids. Not once did I have a domestic violence call at the house. It never happened, OK?"
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"She's not tellnig the truth," he continued. "I love her to death, I have nothing against her still — that is my kids' mother. But she is not telling the truth."
He broke down in tears again while denying rumors he hog-tied Drea and claimed she was trying to keep him away from their children.
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When asked about his relationship with his children, Kelly said, "I know my kids love me, and I'm in love with my kids."
However, one of Kelly's daughters claimed in an Instagram post that she and her siblings have not had a relationship with Kelly for years.
Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008 that centered on a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13.
King also spoke with Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary about their live-in relationship with Kelly.
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"They said if they ever have to blackmail him they can use that," Clary, 21, said.
Savage nodded along, noting, "Everything she's saying is true." Savage, 23, reportedly spoke to her family on the phone for the first time in years and told them she was OK.
Kelly claimed that Savage's father, Timothy, brought Joycelyn to him and asked the singer to take her onstage. The Savage family's attorney vehemently denied the claim, saying Timothy and Kelly never met.
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Clary and Savage said they're "in a relationship" with Kelly.
"We both have our individual relationships with him and we're a family," Clary said. Clary refused to discuss whether their three-way relationship was a sexual one.
Clary and Savage each said they're "absolutely" in love with Kelly.
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Clary said her parents have come to visit her in Chicago and that they stopped answering her calls. "I wouldn't look him in the eye because he's a liar. He's a manipulative liar," she said. She added, "I was not having sex with him when I was 17."
"When I first met Robert my parents told me to lie about my age, so he thought I was 18. When I was 17, my parents were trying to make me take photos with take, take sexual videos with him ... so if they ever needed to blackmail him, like they're doing now," she alleged.
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Savage nodded and said that her parents were also "trying to get money and scam."
Clary said of her father, "he's very manipulative. He's the one you need to watch out for her." She said her father threatened to expose nude photos of her online if she didn't have Kelly send tens of thousands of dollars into his bank account. She began to cry, saying that her parents wanted nothing but money and lamented that "negativity sells."
Clary's parents have vehemently denied ever asking for money.
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Kelly, however, claimed that Clary and Savage's parents encouraged them to be with him to kickstart the girls' music careers. He said of Savage specifically, "[Her mother] started promoting that Joycelyn could sing," Kelly said, adding that Savage couldn't actually sing. "I'm not with her for her talent ... it's 'cause she was beautiful," he admitted.
Savage and Clary each denied ever wanting to be singers.
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"Let me tell you something about singing. Before I ever met R. Kelly, I told my patrents I did not want to sing," Clary said. She said she attempted suicide to avoid having sing, which her father said was actually her dream. "Honestly, I'm happy doing what I'm doing," she said, adding that she and Savage weren't sure what they wanted to do with their lives yet, but noted, "I know Rob will support us."
Medical records revealed, however, that Clary told doctors at the time of her suicide attempt that it was due to issues with her boyfriend at the time and that music calmed her down — which corroborrated Clary's father's claims about the incident.
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At the conclusion of the segment, King said that Kelly was present during her interview with Savage and Clary and coughed loudly at times and tried to stop the interview. On Thursday morning, King told her co-anchors, "As a parent, I wanted to tell them, 'Get your things and let's go. You're 21 and you're 23, let's go.'" She added, "They parrot a lot of what [Kelly] is saying."
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