Women Who Live With R. Kelly Call Parents Liars, One Claims Dad Told Her To Make 'Sexual Videos' With Singer
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As R. Kelly sits in Cook County Jail for failing to pay child support to his ex-wife, two of the women he is currently dating are defending him against allegations he has been holding them against their will.
One of the women also claimed her parents encouraged her to make "sexual videos" with Kelly when she was only 17.
Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary live with Kelly at his home in Chicago. In an exclusive interview with "CBS This Morning" anchor Gayle King, the young women said they love him, even though their families have claimed Kelly has brainwashed them.
But the women said their parents are lying about the situation with Kelly, and are trying to blackmail him.
Clary said when she first met Kelly, her parents told her to lie about her age.
"When I met him, he thought that I was 18. My parents told me to lie about my age to him," she said.
Clary also claimed her father encouraged her to take "sexual videos" with Kelly so that they could blackmail him.
"When I was 17, my parents were actually making me, trying to get me to take photos with him, take sexual videos with him, all kinds of stuff," she said. "They said, because if they ever have to blackmail him, what they're trying to do now, they can use it against him, which is exactly what they're doing."
Savage, 23, and Clary, 21, said there is nothing inappropriate about their relationship with the 52-year-old R&B singer.
They claimed their parents are just out for money.
"Both our parents are basically out here trying to get money and scam, because they didn't agree on what happened, you know, with music or whatever it could be. And they're just very upset," Savage said.
Kelly was jailed again on Wednesday, after failing to come up with $161,000 in child support he was ordered to pay to his ex-wife by Wednesday morning.
Under terms of his 2009 divorce, Kelly must pay $20,000 a month in child support, but stopped making the required payments last spring.
Kelly's publicist said the singer was prepared to pay $50,000 to $60,000 on Wednesday, but the judge wanted the full amount. Sheriff's deputies took him to the Cook County Jail, and said he must pay the full $161,000 to be released.
Kelly is being held in isolation in the jail infirmary, under 24-hour observation. He also was held in the jail's hospital during his stay there after his arrest two weeks ago.
In his CBS interview, Kelly told King he has just around $350,000 left in his bank account.
"So many people have been stealin' my money. People was connected to my account. I went into – I went by myself for the first time to a Bank of America. Didn't know what I was doing. Didn't know what the hell was going on," he said.
Kelly claimed the first time he went alone to a Bank of America was about three weeks to a month ago. "Because I was so tired of not knowin' where my money was, what my publishing is."
Kelly conceded that a lot of not knowing his own financial situation is his fault, saying, "a lot of it's on me." To those who say he doesn't have money because he's had to pay out so many settlements, he said, "Lie."
According to court documents, Kelly settled three lawsuits with women who allege they were minors when he had sex with them. But Kelly said what really cost him is the people who had access to his bank account, something he found out from a bank teller.
"Because the songs I've written, baby, I mean, you know, the songs I've written are songs that can handle settlements and everything else," Kelly said.
"I had, like, $350,000 in the bank. And I told her, 'Look, take that. I'm gonna start a new account.' And that's where it is, right? So she said, 'Okay. It's gonna take six to seven business days to clear.' Does that make sense?"
The day after the trip to the bank, Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He said he was unable to access his bank account to make bail. Now, he's back in jail for the separate child support case. Something he became emotional about during our interview.
"How can I pay child support? How?! If my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can't work? How can I work? How can I get paid? How can I take care of my kids? How?" he said through tears.
Meantime, Savage's family spoke out Wednesday after watching Kelly's own interview with King, during which he claimed the women's parents handed them over to him when they were teenagers, and only complained about him when he stopped sending them money.
"How come it was okay for me to see them until they wasn't getting no money from me? Why would you take your daughter – if I'm going to take my daughter and she's 19 years old to a 49-year-old icon, whatever, celebrity or R. Kelly concert or whoever it is, I'm not going to put her on the stage and leave her. I'm going to take her to the concert. Their father is more into my music and know about my music than they do," Kelly said.
King told Clary she spoke with her father the day before their interview. "He says, 'My daughter is brainwashed,' and he's very concerned. He said he was here two days ago, and you wouldn't even look him in the eye," King said.
"Okay, I wouldn't look him in the eye because he's a liar. He's a manipulative liar," Clary said.
"I'll tell you why they're concerned, Azriel, because they say, 'She's 17. We found text messages that indicated that she was having sex with R. Kelly when she was 17.' Is that true?" King asked.
"No. No, that is a lie. That is a lie. I was not having sex with him at 17," Clary said.
Savage's parents, Timothy and Jonjelyn, said they haven't heard from her in two years, because Kelly won't let her contact them.
The couple's attorneys, Gerald Griggs, bristled at Kelly's assertions that the Savages offered up their daughter to him for money.
"At no point did this family sell their daughter to anyone or provide their daughter for anything for money," he said.
Griggs said the family has never asked for or received money from Kelly. Hours after Kelly's interview aired on Wednesday, Joycelyn Savage called her family and said she is "very happy" with him.
In their interview with King, Clary and Savage both said they are in a loving and strong relationship with Kelly.
"How do we say this without being inappropriate? Is this a three-way relationship, or do you each have a separate relationship with him? How does this work? I'm curious," King said.
"Well, both of those," Clary said. "We both have our individual relationships with him, and we all are family all together. We have our moments where we sit and watch movies all together, we go to amusement parks all together."
"I'm not talking about, Azriel, going to movies and sitting, watching – going to parks. I'm talking about is it – is it a three-way sexual relationship between the three of you?" King asked.
"Sexually, well, first of all, I'm not here to talk about my personal life and I would never share with no one what I do in or outside of the bedroom. And as a woman, I'm sure you would not either," Clary said.
"No, I wouldn't but I –"
"Okay, then, so next question," Clary said.
"No, you're right, I would not, but this is a very different circumstance. And I think it's a fair question," King responded.
"It's not a different circumstance. There are people all over the world who have multiple girlfriends. It's no different," Clary said.
"Do both of you all believe you're in love with him?"
"Of course," Clary said.
"Absolutely," Savage said.