UPDATED 7/23, 10 a.m. ET: R. Kelly's crisis manager Darrell Johnson has stepped down from the singer's team following his interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning on Monday, Vulture reports.
"I step down as crisis manager for personal reasons. Mr. Kelly is in good hands with Mr. Greenberg," he told CBS News, indicating the singer’s lawyer Steve Greenberg. While Johnson doesn't offer a particular reason for his exit, his interview with King found him both trying to defend Kelly from the current charges, while also openly stating that he wouldn't leave his daughter alone with the singer.
Kelly had his own explosive and emotional interview with King back in March, where he consistently denied all of the sexual abuse and sexual misconduct allegations that he's facing.
See original story below.
Ahead of R. Kelly's federal court appearance in Brooklyn court next month, the disgraced Chicago singer's crisis manager Darrell Johnson sat down for an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning. Johnson defended Kelly, who is facing a combined 18 counts in Illinois and New York including child pornography, as his client is being held in a Chicago jail without bond.
"Kelly's a mess right now," Johnson explained. "He's afraid, he's scared... He's isolated."
Despite his defense of Kelly, Johnson made it clear that he wouldn't trust Kelly around his daughter. "You have a 20-something-year-old daughter. Would you allow her to be alone with," King said before she was interrupted by Johnson. "Absolutely not," he responded immediately. "R. Kelly?" she asked. "I would not leave my daughter with anyone who's accused of pedophilia," he added before repeating the statement.
"I've seen Mr. Kelly being a normal person," he said, while adding that he's not seen anything that would lead him to be "suspicious" of Kelly. Johnson has denied all allegations leveled against the singer, but he insisted that he "wouldn't call anyone a liar."
R. Kelly is currently being held in solitary confinement at a Chicago prison, but he will soon be transported to New York to face his felony charges there on Aug. 2. The case in Illinois alleges that he made videotapes of himself having sex with underage girls. If convicted of the charges in Illinois alone, he could face up to 195 years.
