R. Kelly’s two young girlfriends angrily denied claims that they are ‘brainwashed’ and refused to answer questions about their sex life with the singer in an excruciating interview during which he lurked in the shadows and coughed to make his presence known after insisting he would not be in the room.
Joycelyn Savage, 23, and Azriel Clary, 21, sat down with CBS‘s Gayle King earlier this week to dismiss their families’ claims that they are being controlled by Kelly.
Azriel, who met Kelly when she was just 17, was visibly angry and emotional. She cried, screamed and spoke down to King while being asked about her life with the singer and accused her parents of pimping her out to him when she was underage to ‘take pictures’ and ‘sexual videos’ with him that could later be used as blackmail. Her family, who took part in the Lifetime docu-series Surviving R. Kelly, insists they have never asked for a penny from him. They have never released explicit photographs or videos of her.
‘When I was 17, my parents were making me try to take photos with him, sexual videos with him.
‘They said if they ever had to blackmail him, they can use them,’ she said.
Joycelyn, who has been with the singer for the last two years, said what she was saying was ‘true’ and added that both their families are only interested in ‘money’. The pair became aggravated when King asked about the nature of their relationship with the singer who is 30 years older than them both.
‘We’re with him. That’s our relationship with him. We live with him. You just said it,’ Azriel fumed.
Joycelyn added that it was a ‘very strong relationship’,
There’s a part in the interview where King pushed for details, asking whether they each had their own relationship with him or if it was a ‘three-way’ in which they all were equal partners that seemed to rile up both Azriel and Joycelyn.
Elsewhere in the interview Azriel accused her parents of treating her like a ‘hoe’ by allegedly encouraging her to start a sexual relationship with the singer. She said that while they pushed her towards him, they did not have sex until after she turned 18.
‘When I first met Robert my parents first told me to lie about my age. He thought that I was 18,’ she said, adding that her father was ‘manipulative’ and ‘the one you have to watch out for’.
‘My mom and dad started to send threats to me and to [R. Kelly] to say they would put all my naked pictures out there if he doesn’t put $20,000 to this bank account by Monday and another $10,000 to this one… you’re trying to solicit me like I’m some f*****g h*e. I’m not, I am your child,’ she said.
She also rejected her parents’ claim that she has not spoken to them for years, saying that they ‘knew’ where she has been for the last four years and that she has been well taken care of. She claimed that the only reason her boyfriend is being accused of such abhorrent crimes is that ‘negativity sells’.
Both women said they did not know what they wanted to do for work or ‘with their lives’ but that whatever they chose, Kelly – who is facing 70 years imprisonment – would support them, per Daily Mail.
‘Honestly I am happy doing what I am doing. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life but we know Rob is going to support us regardless,’ Azriel said.
Joycelyn added: ‘All we need is each other.’
Earlier in the interview, Azriel snapped and called anyone who believed she was in danger ignorant.
‘I am crying because you guys don’t know the truth and you guys believe in some f*****g facade that our parents are saying for money and if you can’t see that then you’re ignorant and you’re stupid!’ Azriel yelled while Joycelyn patted her back.
After the interview aired on CBS on Thursday morning, King revealed that Kelly had been lurking behind them during their interview despite his team telling her crew that he would not be in the room.
Yikes!
Flip the page for the Gayle King interview with Azriel and Joycelyn.