R. Kelly explains the difference between living as R. Kelly and Robert in a new CBS This Morning sneak peek.
The R&B singer, who was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse last month, opened up to Gayle King about the accusations against him, which he repeatedly has denied.
“This is what I hear,” King begins in ET’s exclusive clip. “That there is a difference between R. Kelly the entertainer, and Robert Kelly the man. Do you know where I am going with that?”
“One is charming and likable, and one is very controlling and abusing,” she explains.
Kelly replies, “Is that a rumor?” with King firmly asking, “Are there two R. Kellys?”
“Like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?” the singer asks before explaining that there is only one version of him. “Absolutely not. Robert is the guy who sings. His singing name is R. Kelly. It’s the equivalent of a policeman. When a policeman put on his badge, his suit and his uniform, he goes out to do his job. When he’s on that job, he’s a beast, he’s tough, he has to be. He’s gotta be in control, not out of control. He has to do his work.”
“When he takes that off and he’s home, he’s with his family. He loves his family, and if he’s single, he may mingle,” he continues. “But, however, he’s still there to serve and protect at the time he’s supposed to do it. I’m R. Kelly on stage, but that is Robert in an R. Kelly uniform.”
On Wednesday morning, the first part of King’s intimate sit-down with Kelly aired, with Kelly vehemently denying his multiple sexual abuse charges. Throughout the interview, Kelly continuously claimed that everyone featured in the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly is “lying” and maintained that he has “absolutely not” broken any laws.
“If you really look at that documentary… everybody says something bad about me. Nobody said nothing good,” he said. “They was describing Lucifer. I’m not Lucifer. I’m a man. I make mistakes, but I’m not a devil, and by no means am I a monster.”
“… People are going back to my past, OK? That’s exactly what they’re doing,” he added. “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.”
At one point, Kelly got visibly emotional, standing from his chair, crying and yelling. “Y’all killing me with this s**t. I gave you 30 years of my f**king career. Thirty years of my career!” Kelly shouted before a voice-over from King told viewers that they paused the interview for Kelly’s publicist to calm him down. “Y’all trying to kill me! You’re killing me, man! This is not about music! I’m trying to have a relationship with my kids and I can’t do it! Y’all just don’t want to believe the truth! You don’t want to believe it!”
See more of his interview in the video below.
More of King’s sit-down with Kelly, as well as his girlfriends, will air on CBS This Morning on March 7.
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