In his first interview since his arrest last month on charges of sexual abuse, embattled R&B singer R. Kelly lashed out on “CBS This Morning,” at several points yelling and saying his multiple accusers were lying and conspiring against him.
During the segment, Gayle King pressed him on the allegations made by dozens of people who were interviewed in a widely watched Lifetime docuseries. “Surviving R. Kelly” brought renewed attention to the sexual misconduct claims that have followed the singer for years.
“Everybody says something bad about me,” Kelly said of the series. “Nobody said nothing good. They were describing Lucifer. I’m not Lucifer, I’m a man. I make mistakes, but I’m not a devil, and by no means am I a monster.”
Kelly called claims that he held women against their will “stupid” and said that “the power of social media” was to blame. “I have been assassinated. I have been buried alive,” he said. Then he erupted.
“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,” Kelly said. “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, hold girls against their will, chain them up in my basement, and don’t let them eat, don’t let them out, unless they need some shoes down the street from their uncle!”
King tried to interject, but Kelly stood up, screaming and pounding his fists. “Stop it! Y’all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! . . . Y’all trying to kill me!” he said.
