{"id":793646,"date":"2019-03-06T07:01:50","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T14:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=803881"},"modified":"2019-03-06T07:01:50","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T14:01:50","slug":"r-kelly-gets-emotional-unhinged-in-cbs-interview-i-have-been-assassinated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/r-kelly-gets-emotional-unhinged-in-cbs-interview-i-have-been-assassinated\/","title":{"rendered":"R. Kelly Gets Emotional, Unhinged in CBS Interview: \u2018I Have Been Assassinated\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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R. Kelly<\/a> conducted his first interview since his arrest on sexual abuse charges<\/a> \u2013 and his first interview since the Surviving R. Kelly<\/em> docuseries \u2013 Tuesday with CBS This Morning<\/em>\u2018s Gayle King<\/a>. During the interview, Kelly emphatically denied any wrongdoing<\/a> as well as allegations he had sexual relationships with underage girls, as the charges against him claim. Parts of the 80-minute interview aired on CBS This Morning<\/em> Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been assassinated. I have been buried alive. But I\u2019m alive,\u201d Kelly said of the charges and the aftermath of Surviving R. Kelly<\/em>. The singer appeared agitated at points, yelling directly at the camera and, at one point, standing up out of his chair to claim that he was being persecuted and screaming, \u201cI\u2019m trying to have a relationship with my kids! And I can\u2019t do it! Y\u2019all just don\u2019t want to believe the truth! You don\u2019t want to believe it!\u201d<\/p>\n

When King asked Kelly if he had done anything illegal, Kelly said \u201cabsolutely not\u201d and then listed the allegations against him: \u201cGot little girls trapped in the basement, helicopters over my house trying to rescue someone that doesn\u2019t need rescuing because they\u2019re not in my house. Handcuffing people, starving people. I have a harem, what you call it \u2013 a cult. I don\u2019t even really know what a cult is. But I know I don\u2019t have one.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody says something bad about me. Nobody said nothin\u2019 good,\u201d the singer said of Surviving R. Kelly<\/em>. \u201cThey was describing Lucifer. I\u2019m not Lucifer. I\u2019m a man. I make mistakes, but I\u2019m not a devil, and by no means am I a monster.<\/p>\n

Kelly blamed social media \u2013 where the #MuteRKelly campaign<\/a> heightened the scrutiny against the singer following Surviving R. Kelly<\/em>, resulting in the termination of his record contract<\/a> \u2013 on the spread of rumors against him, and then launched into an angry soliloquy where a teary-eyed Kelly stood up and spoke directly at the cameras.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can start a rumor on a guy like me or a celebrity just like that,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cAll you have to do is push a button on your phone and say so and so did this to me, R. Kelly did this to me, and if you get any traction from that, if you\u2019re able to write a book from that, if you\u2019re able to get a reality show\u2026 then any girl that I had a relationship in the past that it just didn\u2019t work out, she can come and say the same exact thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly continued, \u201cUse your common sense. Forget the blogs, forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want to, love me if you want. But just use your common sense. How stupid would it be for me, with my crazy past and what I\u2019ve been through \u2013 oh right, now I just think I have to be monster, and hold girls against their will, chain them up in my basement, and don\u2019t let them eat, don\u2019t let them out, unless they need some shoes down the street from their uncle!\u201d<\/p>\n

King attempted to calm Kelly down but the singer continued his tirade, \u201cStop it. You all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn\u2019t do this stuff! This is not me! I\u2019m fighting for my fucking life! Y\u2019all killing me with this shit! I gave you 30 years of my fucking career! Thirty years of my career! And y\u2019all trying to kill me? You killing me, man! This is not about music! I\u2019m trying to have a relationship with my kids! And I can\u2019t do it! Y\u2019all just don\u2019t want to believe the truth! You don\u2019t want to believe it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Avenatti, who represents multiple people involved in the latest legal action against Kelly, responded with a series of tweets that slammed Kelly\u2019s CBS This Morning<\/em> performance:<\/p>\n

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Key things we learned from the R. Kelly interview: 1. R Kelly is a much better singer than he is an actor; 2. He is desperate and distraught because he knows he has been caught. 3. He thinks sexual assault of young girls in the \u201cway way past\u201d cannot be charged. 4. He is guilty.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 6, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In a second clip posted on the CBS This Morning<\/em> Youtube, King asked Kelly about his alleged history of sexual relationships with underage girls and younger women.<\/p>\n