R. Kelly decided to sit down with Gayle King for an interview that will probably go down as one of the most memed in internet history. The accused sexual predator attempted to defend himself against more than two decades’ worth of sex abuse allegations but only made more people doubt him. He is facing 70 years in prison for multiple sex charges.
SEE ALSO: R. Kelly Arrested, His Lawyer Says: ‘All The Women Are Lying’
In the interview, which aired Wednesday on “CBS This Morning,” Kelly offered implausible answers when he was questioned about his past with underage girls, like his illegal marriage to then-15-year-old singer Aaliyah.
“I beat my case,” he cried in reference to his 2008 acquittal on child porn charges. “When you beat something, you beat it. You can’t double-jeopardy me like that. You can’t. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to nobody!”
To be fair, the charges Kelly was facing are different from that trial. He was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Feb. 22, the same day he surrendered to Chicago police and was arrested.
In the interview, Kelly also adamantly denied he was guilty.
“Not true,” Kelly said when King asked him about “the other cases where women have come forward and said, ‘R. Kelly had sex with me when I was under the age of 18. R. Kelly was abusive to me emotionally and physically and verbally. R. Kelly took me in a black room where unspeakable things happened.’ This is what they’re saying about you.”
Kelly got extremely emotional, saying, “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. … Quit playing! I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my f*cking life!”
Watch a clip below:
The latest charges against Kelly stem from attorney Michael Avenatti giving a pair of purported child porn videos that featured the singer. Avenatti said he was hired last April in connection to multiple allegations of Kelly sexually assaulting minors. He claimed to have videotaped evidence, which, despite their similarities, were apparently not the same video footage that got Kelly indicted in 2002 — and acquitted in 2008 — for child porn.
Increased interest in seeing Kelly charged for his alleged crimes came at the beginning of the year when the bombshell docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” aired with several women accusing him of sexually abusing them when they were underage.
Twitter users were showing no mercy. See below:
