R. Kelly Claims Parents of His Alleged Victims Gave Their Daughters to Him

Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage recently sat down with Gayle King to discuss their relationship with Kelly as well as deny the sexual abuse allegations.

R. Kelly
Getty

Image via Getty/Scott Olson

R. Kelly

R. Kelly's volatile CBS interview has received the primetime treatment.

We received our first look at the sit-down earlier this week, when the disgraced singer denied his slew of sexual abuse allegations. The interview marked the first time Kelly addressed the accusations since his arrest on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Those charges involve four women, three of whom were underage at the time of the alleged abuse.

"I didn't do this stuff. This is not me! I'm fighting for my f*cking life! Y'all killing me with this sh*t. I gave y'all 30 years of my career! 30 years of my career and y'all trying to kill me? You're killing me, man," he told King. "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 wanna believe the truth. You don't wanna believe it."

Tonight's broadcast also includes interviews with Kelly's accusers, as well as the two women who continue to live with him: Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage.

The families of Clary and Savage claim the women have been brainwashed and held against their will; however, Clary claims it was her parents who encouraged her to sleep with Kelly while she was still underage.

"When I first met Robert, my parents told me to lie about my age. So when I met him, he thought that I was 18," Clary said. "On top of that, when I was 17, my parents were actually making me, trying to get me to take photos with him, take sexual videos with him, all kinds of stuff [...] They said, because if they ever have to blackmail him, what they're trying to do now, they can use it against him, which is exactly what they're doing."

Savage added: "Everything that she's saying is true. Both our parents are basically out here trying to get money and scam, because they didn't agree on what happened, you know, with music or whatever it could be."

Kelly's current live-in girlfriends, now 21-year-old Azriel Clary and 23-year-old Joycelyn Savage spoke with @GayleKing.

"I've known Robert for 4 to 5 years. What they're saying is absolutely not true. He's a good man, he's a gentleman." -- Joycelynhttps://t.co/aG6KTpHmRs pic.twitter.com/vG6oPB5nu0

— 48 Hours (@48hours) March 9, 2019

.@GayleKing to Joycelyn Savage's father: How old are you?

"45" -- Tim

And R. Kelly's 52. -- @GayleKing

"Right"

How does that sit with you?

"It doesn't sit well with me. Not one bit."
https://t.co/QnnuoC4CYH pic.twitter.com/KbjJnqY2FZ

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 9, 2019

Kelly, who was in the room during Clary and Savage's interview, also touched on these claims during his sit-down:

"What kind of father, what kind of mother would sell their daughter to a man?" he asked

"So you're saying the parents handed their daughters, Azriel and Jocelyn, to you?" King asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Absolutely," he replied.

King also spoke to three of Kelly's alleged victims, including Asante McGee. The woman described the singer as a "monster" who was oppressively controlling. 

Asante McGee was another one of R. Kelly's girlfriends.

"I cannot come out of my room unless I have permission. I have to text him. I have to call him. I have to stomp on the floor to get permission to come out of the room." -- McGeehttps://t.co/aG6KTpHmRs pic.twitter.com/jEcn4FJ0IE

— 48 Hours (@48hours) March 9, 2019

King also spoke to Michelle Kramer, who has accused Kelly of abusing her daughter Dominique Gardner. 

"The beatings, extension cords, anything you could think of. [Kelly] told her he would throw her out a f*cking window," Kramer said, before explaining why she believes Clary and Savage refuse to leave their abuser. "It's like a drug. You can't get nobody off a drug. They got to be ready to get off when they want to. And they're not ready yet."

Michelle Kramer says her daughter Dominique was beaten by R. Kelly & starved for days.

“When my daughter came home she was 98 pounds. When she left to be with him she was 125. So you do the math.” https://t.co/QnnuoBN1A7 pic.twitter.com/zw6WxBdkYt

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 9, 2019
Are there two R. Kellys? There's a Robert and there's a R. Kelly? -- @GayleKing

"Like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" -- R. Kelly

Oh, all right. We'll go with that. -- @GayleKinghttps://t.co/QnnuoC4CYH pic.twitter.com/hqbJMrxUas
#RKelly maintained his popularity throughout the early 2000's despite a string of disturbing accusations.

"The churches of Chicago failed. The schools failed. The press failed. The music industry certainly failed. Everybody failed these young, Black girls." -- @JimDeRogatis pic.twitter.com/ssNsjd0tnU

Latest in Music