Popular R&B singer and a legend of a sort when it comes to that genre of music, Robert Kelly denies the aggravated criminal sexual abuse brought against him, as he opens up for the first time since his arrest with Gayle King.
Robert Kelly who was interviewed by Gayle King on CBS This Morning, pleaded for understanding as he was shown in a short video shared by Gayle on her Instagram page, shouting, “I’m fighting for my f***ing life!”
TMZ reported that Gayle King who was conducting R Kelly’s first interview since he was arrested on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, presses Kelly on the recent allegations, and clearly hits a soft spot when asked if Kelly has ever held women against their will.
The singer explodes, looking directly into the camera and urging viewers to believe it’s all lies. Kelly points to his past cases in which he’s been accused of inappropriate sexual acts as proof he’d never commit a crime again, knowing all eyes were on him. He said:
“People are going back to my past and they’re trying to add [up] all of this stuff… to make all of this stuff that’s going on now feel real to people,”
People reported when Gayle King insisted that his past was relevant because of the underage girls, Robert Kelly shut down that idea and claimed those reports were simply “rumours.”
“Absolutely, no it’s not [relevant] because, for one, I beat my case,” he said, referencing the 2008 case where he was acquitted. “When you beat something, you beat it.”
But King, 64, quickly clarified that she wasn’t referring to that specific case, prompting Kelly to argue that his current case can be considered “double jeopardy” — a clause from the Fifth Amendment that prohibits a person from being prosecuted twice for the same offense.
“You can’t double jeopardy me, it’s not fair to nobody!” he said, before going on to reiterate that the sexual abuse claims from the women were false. “Not true! Whether they’re old rumors, new rumors, future rumors… not true!”
After being asked why the alleged victims would have made up these claims against him, a once-poised Robert Kelly began to crumble and angrily argued that holding women against their will and sexually abusing them was unnecessary and “stupid.”
“I don’t need to [hold anybody against their will.] Why would I?” he said. “That’s stupid, guys!
Robert Kelly then faced the camera where he continued his heated rant, despite several attempts by King to interrupt the singer
“Forget how you feel about me! Hate me if you want to, love me if you want, but use your common sense!” he exclaimed. “How stupid would it be for me with my crazy past and what I’ve been through to be like, ‘Oh right now, I think I need to be a monster and hold girls against their will, chain ’em up in my basement and don’t let ’em eat and don’t let ’em out?’”
“Stop it. Y’all, quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff,” he added while getting choked up. “This is not me! I’m fighting for my f—ing life!” People reported.
The full interview will air Wednesday morning on “CBS This Morning.”