R. Kelly's girlfriends Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage have released a video disputing reports that they were evicted from the singer's apartment in Chicago's Trump Tower following his arrest on Thursday.
Last week, federal prosecutors in New York and Chicago unveiled indictments against Kelly in two separate federal cases. While walking his dog outside the Trump Tower in Chicago on Thursday, the singer was arrested by federal agents on a 13-count indictment which includes charges of child pornography, enticement of a minor, and obstruction of justice. One day later, federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an additional indictment against Kelly on charges of racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits individuals from transporting people for "any sexual activity that may be charged as a crime."
After the singer was arrested, news reports claimed that Clary and Savage, both of whom live with Kelly, had been evicted from his high-rise apartment. In response to the media coverage, TMZ obtained a video of the two women calling the reports "fake news" and assuring viewers that they are still sitting comfortably in Trump Tower.
Throughout the video, Clary does most of the talking while Savage nods in the background. "We are here at the Trump," Azriel says to the camera. "We've been here for years." The 21 and 23-year-old were interviewed by Gayle King earlier this year defending Kelly and disputing the sexual abuse claims he is currently facing.
Last week, when federal agents raided Kelly's Chicago apartment, Clary and Savage were nowhere to be found, but according to TMZ, Kelly has/had two units in the building, one under his name and another under Clary's, which police were not authorized to enter. During a press conference last week, Kelly's publicist Darrell Johnson addressed the new charges and faced an interruption from Joycelyn's father Timothy Savage.
"I don't wanna hear all that," Savage yelled at Johnson. "I wanna know where my daughter's at! Answer that question."
In regards to possible sentences in the first federal criminal charges brought against the singer, Kelly could face up to 195 years if convicted on all counts in Illinois, and a life sentence in connection to the New York indictment.
Lawyer Michael Avenatti on Monday shared some shocking news about Kelly's 2008 trial, namely that the singer reportedly gave over $2 million to keep an alleged victim and her family off the stand. "To those R. Kelly fans who want to talk about the 2008 trial and the fact that he was acquitted, it was bogus. R. Kelly bought his acquittal. He bought this victim and their parents and insured that the truth was never told to that jury in 2008,” Avenatti said in the video below.
