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Here's What Happened When Gayle King Sat Down With R. Kelly's Girlfriends

Photo: Courtesy of Lazarus Jean-Baptiste/CBS.
The conversation between R. Kelly and Gayle King is everywhere right now, and with good reason. The unfiltered 80-minute interview King conducted with Kelly was both eye-opening and upsetting.
CBS aired King's conversation with Kelly in two parts; the first focused on Kelly's outburst around his recent indictment on 10 charges of aggravated sexual abuse in addition to the mounting additional allegations against him and the second focused on his family and financial issues. This morning, another part of the interview aired that featured two women, Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage, who the singer calls his girlfriends — and who their parents say are brainwashed into living with and remaining faithful to Kelly.
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In the interview, Clary, 21, and Savage, 23, defended Kelly, refuting claims by their concerned parents that there is something sinister happening under his roof, where they currently reside. After the interview, a clip of Savage calling her parents has made some believe she is not safe.
In the interview, Clary claimed that her parents were the ones who initially told her to engage in a relationship with the 52-year-old singer. Clary says that they instructed her to lie about her age (she was 17 when they met, and she maintains she did not have sex with him until she was 18), and encouraged her to send sexual videos to Kelly. She implies that they wanted the relationship to happen, and are being "manipulative" now to "blackmail" Kelly.
Savage, who nodded along during Clary's defense of Kelly and takedown of her parents, mirrored that dedication to the singer and also claimed her parents wanted to exploit her relationship with Kelly by blackmailing him.
"You guys are believing some fucking facade that our parents are saying... If you can't see that, you're ignorant and you're stupid," Savage said through tears at one point, while Clary comforted her.
Immediately following the interview, which Kelly snuck into, Savage's parents received a phone call from her that they believe was scripted.
Clary's parents shared a statement via their lawyer following the interviews. "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," they said.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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