It’s the interview everybody is talking about this week. R. Kelly was emotional and explosive at times as he sat down with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King for his first interview since being charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse. The charges involve four alleged victims, including three underage girls.
“Stop it. You all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me!” Kelly angrily responded as King persisted in questioning him about the charges.
“I’m fighting for my f***ing life! Y’all killing me with this sh*t!” Kelly said as he stood up and hit his hands together. “I gave you 30 years of my f***ing career!”
Friday night, CBS News will broadcast a one-hour primetime special, “The Gayle King Interview with R. Kelly,” featuring more of the exclusive interviews with the embattled R&B singer and two women who live with him.
How to watch Gayle King’s interview with R. Kelly
- What: “The Gayle King Interview with R. Kelly”
- Date: Friday, March 8, 2019
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET/PT; 7:00 p.m. Central
- On TV: Your local CBS station
- Live stream: CBS All Access – start a free trial
- Online: Stream on CBSN at 12 a.m. ET; replaying Saturday at 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. ET.
Highlights of Friday’s primetime special
The special will include never-before-seen parts of King’s 80-minute sit-down with Kelly, taped on Tuesday in Chicago.
There will also be more from King’s interview with two young women currently living with Kelly, Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage, 23. Their parents believe Kelly brainwashed their daughters into being a part of his alleged sex cult, which Kelly strongly denied.
“I don’t even really know what a cult is,” he told King. “But I know I don’t have one.”
A team of CBS News journalists will also explore past allegations of abuse against Kelly, his denials and more.
“The Gayle King Interview With R. Kelly” is produced by the teams at “CBS This Morning” and “48 Hours.”
What is Kelly accused of doing?
Chicago prosecutors charged Kelly in February with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Three of the four alleged victims were underage when the suspected crimes happened. Kelly pleaded not guilty and was released on bail after a weekend in Cook County Jail.
Sources tell CBS News federal and state authorities in at least two states, New York and Illinois, are now investigating a variety of allegations. This week, Detroit Police also said they are seeking to talk with a woman who claims Kelly had sex with her when she was 13 years old, in 2001.
Kelly was sent back to jail Wednesday — the day after his interview with King — following a hearing over unpaid child support bills. Authorities said Kelly will stay in jail until he comes up with more than $161,000 he owes his three children.
Kelly has faced intense scrutiny over his treatment of young women for more than a decade. In 2008, he was found not guilty on 14 counts of child pornography after prosecutors failed to convince a jury that he was the man seen in a sex tape with a girl as young as 13.
In January 2019, the six-part Lifetime docu-series “Surviving R. Kelly” drew new attention to allegations about Kelly’s behavior. It featured interviews with seven accusers and former members of his inner circle who said Kelly preys on vulnerable women and young girls.
Who is R. Kelly?
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born January 8, 1967, in Chicago. He was raised by his mother, Joanne, a singer, in a public housing project in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
Kelly has spoken candidly about being a sexual abuse survivor himself, saying he was molested starting at the age of 7. But he denies that it has had any effect on his behavior.
Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. Kelly went solo the following year and eventually sold over 75 million albums and singles worldwide.
He won three Grammys for his biggest hit, “I Believe I Can Fly,” and snagged 21 other Grammy nominations over a long career as a songwriter, producer and performer.
