Joycelyn Savage's parents hold press conference pleading for daughter's return from R. Kelly
The parents of Joycelyn Savage, one of two young women in a relationship with R. Kelly, held a press conference Wednesday morning claiming Kelly lied in his interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King. They reiterated their belief that the R&B singer has kept their daughter estranged from her family for two years.
"Joycelyn, we went from seeing you, talking to you weekly, to not seeing you for two years," her mother, Jonjelyn Savage, said during the press conference in Decatur, Georgia. "So that is a clear indication to us, and as a mother, that something is definitely wrong with this situation."
"The allegations Mr. Kelly has brought against my family is very horrific," Joycelyn's father, Timothy Savage, said. "We are a solid family, we care about our daughter. From day one the only thing we wanted to do was actually to see our daughter, hear from our daughter, and make sure she's fine."
Kelly is currently in a relationship with 23-year-old Savage and 21-year-old Azriel Clary. Both of them live with Kelly at his Chicago home. The parents of both women believe the 52-year-old R&B star has brainwashed their daughters into being a part of his alleged sex cult. In an earlier statement released to the public, the Clary family attorney called Kelly "a liar, manipulator and sociopath."
In an exclusive interview with "CBS This Morning's" Gayle King that aired Wednesday, Kelly said he met Joycelyn Savage after her father brought her to one of his concerts when she was 19.
"I didn't go looking for a Joycelyn Savage. I was doing my show ... he brought her and asked a friend of mine to put her on the stage with R. Kelly, make sure she's on the stage," he said.
"That is absolutely not true," the Savage family attorney Gerald Griggs said Wednesday morning during the press conference, stating, "that at no point has Mr. Kelly ever met Mr. Timothy Savage."
Kelly was indicted February 22 and turned himself in to Chicago police. He was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, three of whom were underage. He is being prosecuted by the Cook County state's attorney. Sources tell CBS News federal and state authorities in at least two states — New York and Illinois — are now investigating a variety of allegations.
Allegations of sexual abuse have trailed Kelly over the past 25 years. He married the late singer Aaliyah in 1994 when he was 27 and she 15; it was later discovered that she lied and listed her age on the marriage certificate as 18. The marriage was annulled in 1995. Kelly settled out of court with three different women in 1996, 2001 and 2002 over claims he had sexual relationships with them when they were minors.
In 2002, Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography for participating with a minor in a sex tape. After years of delays and a reduction to 14 counts, in 2008 Kelly was found not guilty of all charges after the jury deliberated for a day.
The recent Lifetime series "Surviving R. Kelly" drew new attention to the years of allegations against him. The Savage and Clary families fear his relationships with the two women, nearly 30 years younger than him, are cause for concern.
"We are in a battle to make sure she is not a victim to the allegations that we've heard and now the charges that we've heard against Robert Sylvester Kelly," Griggs said Wednesday, as the Savage family stood beside him.
When Gayle King asked Kelly about the families' claims, Kelly pointed the finger right back at them.
"You're with two women right now. You love them, they say they love you. What kind of love is it that keeps these young women away from their families?" King asked in the "CBS This Morning" interview.
"I'm going to answer your question. What kind of father, what kind of mother, will sell their daughter to a man?" Kelly said.
Asked by King if he was saying that Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage's parents handed their daughters over to him, Kelly said, "Absolutely. Are the cameras still going? Absolutely."
He also said, "How come it was OK 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."
The Savage family denied being in it for the money.
"We want the record to remain clear that at no point did Tim, Jonjelyn Savage ever request, ever demand, ever receive any financial compensation from Robert Sylvester Kelly," Griggs said during his press conference with the family.
