R. Kelly is telling his side of the story.
A teaser for his first interview since being charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse late last month was released on Tuesday. Interviewed by Gayle King for CBS This Morning,the singer states that the recent allegations against him are “not true.”
The clip begins with King asking Kelly if he can “say you have never been with underage girls. Can you really say that?”
“I sit here and say this: I had two cases back then that I said in the beginning of the interview that I would not talk about because of my ongoing case now,” Kelly — who has repeatedly denied all accusations against him — says in a preview of his interview, set to air on Wednesday. “Fair enough, but I will tell you this: people are going back to my past, OK? That’s exactly what they’re doing. They’re going back to the past, and they’re trying to add all of this stuff now to that. To make all of this stuff that’s going on now feels real to people.”
When King asks, “But the past is relevant with you and underage girls,” Kelly adamantly replies: “Absolutely, no it’s not. Because for one, I beat my case. When you beat something, you beat it.”
He then gets visibly emotional as the tease continues, looking at the camera and King and stating: “That’s stupid! Use 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’ve been through – oh right now I just think I need to be monster, hold girls against their will, chain them up in my basement, and don’t let them eat, don’t let them out, unless they need some shoes down the street from their uncle!”
“Stop it. You don’t quit playing! Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my f**king life!” he ends.
In a second teaser clip, R. Kelly shared his thoughts on Lady Gaga and John Legend both speaking out publicly about his alleged actions.
King also teased the interview on her Instagram, writing, “@rkelly sits down for first intvu since @survivingrkelly doc & let’s just say he has lots to discuss tomorrow @cbsthismorning.”
Kelly has been accused of multiple sexual abuse allegations and inappropriate encounters with girls and young women over the years, but a renewed attention on the allegations came with the release of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries in January, in which more women came forward with allegations of abuse against the singer.
He turned himself in to Chicago police on Feb. 22, and had his first court appearance on Feb. 23. His bond was set at $1 million. However, the singer’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said the singer didn’t have the 10 percent — or $100,000 bail — that he needed to post, CBS Chicago reported.
Kelly thus spent the weekend in jail and returned to court on Feb. 25, when Greenberg pleaded not guilty on his client’s behalf. The singer eventually posted bail later that evening and was released from Cook County Jail.
Kelly’s two-part interview will air Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, March 7 at 7 a.m. ET on CBS This Morning.
For more on Kelly’s case, watch below.
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