Gayle King is opening up to ET about her interview with R. Kelly that aired Wednesday on CBS This Morning, in which the embattled singer was highly emotional while denying all sexual abuse allegations against him.
The intense interview marks 52-year-old Kelly’s first since being charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse late last month. The singer was extremely passionate during his interview with King — shouting at times, repeatedly asking where the camera was, and at one point, sobbing.
“I thought a couple of times that maybe we’re witnessing a breakdown as it’s happening, and that’s why I asked him towards the end of the interview, ‘Have you thought about therapy, or are you in therapy?'” King tells ET. “And he seemed to think, ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.’ He became very emotional and very, very adamant that his voice was heard.”
King says the interview got so intense at one point that a producer suggested they stop, but she says it was Kelly who refused.
“He was very much aware of what he was doing, but I also thought that on some level, we were watching someone who really needed help, and needed help right away,” she says.
King says she actually visited Kelly at his place in Chicago before the interview in order to break the ice. She shares that Kelly had a Christmas tree in his place that stays up all year long because Christmas was his mother’s favorite holiday and that he had a welcome home banner. Kelly spent a weekend in jail late last month after turning himself in to police following his indictment on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Cook County, Illinois, and was eventually released from Cook County Jail on Feb. 25 after paying his $100,000 bail.
“He’s very broken in many ways, but he’s also very strong,” King says. “I walked away thinking I really hope that he reflects on what he said he’s going to reflect on, and maybe he will get some help, some therapy.”
For more on the allegations against Kelly, watch the video below:
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