'Robotic': Father Reacts To Seeing His Daughter Defend R. Kelly, Accuse Him Of Blackmail
CENTURY CITY (CBSLA) — The father of one of R. Kelly's live-in girlfriends is horrified at what she has become.
Angelo Clary looked pained as he spoke about his daughter, Azriel Clary, after she recently spoke to "CBS This Morning" host Gayle King about her status as one of singer R. Kelly's live-in girlfriends.
"That's not my daughter. I tell you what it is is -- that's not my daughter," Angelo Clary said. "The woman that she had become now, is like, robotic."
Clary says his daughter, who first met the Grammy-winning singer at the age of 17, has been cut off for years from loved ones, news and social media. Azriel Clary is now 21 years old, and she looked defiant as she defended Kelly in the interview with King and lobbed accusations at her own parents.
"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 told King. She said her parents wanted her to do these things for the purpose of blackmailing the singer.
But Angelo Clary and his attorney, Michael Avenatti, denied Kelly was ever asked for money.
"That man has never in his life gave me, my wife or anyone any money that have to do with anything, my daughter, or anything else," Clary said.
Avenatti emphasized Clary's decision to come forward was not blackmail.
"I want to be clear about this. They have never demanded money from R. Kelly. They have not received a dollar or a penny from R. Kelly," Avenatti said.
According to Clary, his daughter met Kelly as a rising singer who had once attempted suicide. He says he worries she could try to hurt herself again.
R. Kelly has been plagued for decades by accusations of sexually abusing young women and underage girls. After being acquitted of child pornography in the past, a recent Lifetime documentary, "Surviving R. Kelly," led to fresh criminal charges of sexually abusing four victims, three of whom were underage at the times of the crimes.
