R. Kelly’s Girlfriends Break Down As They Defend Him, Accuse Parents Of Lying
On Wednesday (March 6), CBS This Morning aired an emotional interview with R. Kelly, in which the R&B star vehemently denied the charges for 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse that have been made against him. Through tears, he declared "I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my f---ing life!"
This morning (March 7) Gayle King sat down with the singer's girlfriends, 21-year-old Azriel Clary and 23-year-old Joycelyn Savage, and their sentiments parroted that of their 52-year-old lover.
"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 explained to King, denying she had sex with Kelly while she was underage. "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...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 nodded her head in agreement as Clary spoke. "Everything she's saying is true. Our parents are basically out here to get money," she said. "Both of our parents are basically out here to try and get money and scam because they didn't agree on what happened with music or wherever it could be and they're just very upset."
Later in the interview, Clary broke down in tears while Savage rubbed her back. When asked why she was upset, she said "I'm crying because you guys don't know the truth. You guys are believing some f---ing facade that our parents are saying. This is all f--iing lies for money and if you can't see that, you're ignorant and you're stupid as f--- because you want to be all—because that's the world we live in. Negativity sells, gossip is what sells, rumors are what sell."
"Exactly," Savage added in agreement.
When King brought up the decades of allegations against Kelly, Clary rejected them, twisting the narrative back to her and Savage's parents. "We're not here to talk about decades. We're here to talk about what our parents are doing right now and what they're doing right now is all for money."
Angelo and Alice Clary's attorney released a statement addressing their daughters claims that read, "Azriel Clary is presently suffering from years of mental abuse and manipulation by R. Kelly. Sadly, like so many girls before them, Azriel and Joycelyn Savage have been manipulated and convinced by Kelly to lie to protect him from serious criminal charges. Azriel's parents never attempted to blackmail anyone and never suggested their daughter take nude photos or sexual videos. And they have never asked R. Kelly for a single penny. These are absolute lies fabricated by R. Kelly and we have evidence to show that these claims are bogus."
In a press conference on Wednesday, Savage's parents also denied Kelly's money claim. "The allegations Mr. Kelly has brought against my family is very horrific," her dad Timothy Savage said. "We are a solid family, we care about our daughter. From day one, the only thing we wanted to do was actually to see our daughter, hear from our daughter, and make sure she's fine."
"At no point did this family sell their daughter to anyone or provide their daughter for anything for money," their lawyer reiterated.
Watch Clary and Savage's emotional interview below.