R. Kelly’s twenty-something girlfriends are vehemently defending him against claims that he’s been sexually and physically abusive, and that he’s keeping them away from their parents.
In an interview that aired Thursday on CBS This Morning, Azriel Clary, 21, and Joycelyn Savage, 23, appeared together, claiming that the three have “a very strong relationship.”
Clary seemed the most defensive when King asked if the trio had a three-way sexual relationship, replying: “I would never share with no one what I do in or outside of the bedroom. And as a woman [I’m] sure you would not either.”
Clary, who met the 52-year-old singer when she was 17, also claimed that her parents encouraged her to lie about her age to Kelly, claiming she was older when the two initially met.
“OK, so 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,” she explained. “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.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Your parents encouraged you to do sexual videos with R. Kelly?” King interjected.
“Yes, and 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,” Clary replied.
Savage agreed that her parents were also trying to scam Kelly out of his money.
“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. And they’re just very upset,” Savage added.
The latest interview also featured Kelly, claiming his ex-wife, Andrea Kelly, was lying to his children to tarnish their relationship with each other.
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“How can I pay child support, how, if my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can’t work?” Kelly tearfully asked, referring to how Andrea claimed in Lifetime’s docuseries Surviving R. Kelly that the singer had been emotionally, physically and sexually abusive. “How can I work, how can I get paid, how can I take care of my kids? How?”
Still, R. Kelly was taken into custody due to unpaid child support after being bailed out last week by a “friend.” The R&B singer owes his ex-wife back child support payments up to $161,000 for their two children, court documents report.
According to his publicist, R. Kelly came to the court hearing prepared to pay $50,000 to $60,000, but the judge wanted the whole amount. R. Kelly will not be released until the full amount is paid.
The singer was recently charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse, including abuse against minors. He’s expected back in court later this month.