UPDATE: Here is the full version of part 1 of the interview that aired on CBS on Wednesday morning.
In his first TV interview since he was charged with sexual abuse last month, R. Kelly has denied any sexual abuse allegations.
In an exclusive interview with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning,” Kelly says the allegations he slept with multiple underage girls are not true. He also denies he ever kept women against their will. “They’re going back to the past and they trying to add all of this stuff now to that, to make all of the stuff that’s going on now [feel] real to people,” he tells the host.
NEW: R&B singer R. Kelly, charged with aggravated sexual abuse, angrily denied the accusations in a new interview with @GayleKing, insisting the claims are “rumors” & “not true.”
Kelly has pleaded not guilty; see the first clips here & watch @CBSThisMorning Wednesday at 7a ET. pic.twitter.com/5yT1QwPsIq
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 5, 2019
Kelly then points to the camera and says it would be stupid of him to hold girls against their will. “Use your common sense…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,” he says, raising his voice. “How stupid would it be for me … with my crazy past and what I’ve been through?” After this point he tears down. “I didn’t do this stuff. This is not me. I’m fighting for my f***ing life.”
The full interview will be aired on CBS over two days starting Wednesday. Kelly was indicted last month on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four alleged victims and faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted.