R. Kelly has spoken up for the first time since being charged with 10 counts aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Speaking to reporter Gayle King in an exclusive CBS interview, the singer asserted his innocence and labelled the claims as "rumors."
Although Kelly is prohibited to divulge details regarding his pending case, he referred to his two previous cases as the basis for his ongoing legal trouble. "People are going back to my past and they’re trying to add all of this stuff now to that, to make all of the stuff that’s going on now feel real to people," he said in the excerpt released by CBS. As King stayed on the topic of his controversial history, Kelly reminded her that he was acquitted, saying, "You can’t double jeopardy me like that, it’s not fair. When you beat your case, you beat your case."
While King continued to press the issue at hand, Kelly vehemently denied the allegations, getting more emotional as the interview rolled. Facing the camera directly with tears in his eyes, he maintained his innocence one more time and declared, "I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my f*cking life!"
The full interview, timed at an hour and 20 minutes, will air tomorrow on CBS This Morning at 7 AM ET.
In other music news, Kanye West took his Sunday Service show to the adidas HQ.