crime

What It Was Like for R. Kelly’s Accusers to Watch His Interview

Photo: CBS

Two women who have accused R. Kelly of abuse have spoken out about his interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, in which he denied any wrongdoing. Asante McGee and Kitti Jones, both of whom appeared in the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, spoke to CBS Evening News, discussing their reactions to the interview.

“When he started screaming, it terrified me,” McGee said. “I felt like I was revisiting him yelling at me.”

McGee was interviewed in the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, in which she described being imprisoned and sexually abused by Kelly over the course of their relationship from 2014 to 2016. In January, a criminal investigation was opened into Kelly in Georgia, partly due to McGee’s claims in the documentary.

McGee also spoke about King’s interview with Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary, two women currently living with R. Kelly, calling it “hard to watch.” In a segment that aired on Thursday, 23-year-old Savage and 21-year-old Clary said that there was nothing inappropriate about their relationship with Kelly, and defended him against claims that he brainwashed them.

Jones, who said she dated Kelly from 2011 to 2013, and that the singer kicked, slapped, and punched her throughout their relationship, told CBS that she wasn’t surprised that he described his accusers as liars during his interview.

“He thinks, in his mind, that we’ve all conspired together to take him down, and the truth is, it just became a domino effect,” she said.

McGee added that Kelly himself is a “great performer, on and off the stage,” who “will cry at the drop of a dime.”

Kelly is currently in prison after being arrested for unpaid child support, and CBS This Morning’s full 80-minute interview with him will air as a primetime special on Friday night at 8 p.m.

How R. Kelly’s Accusers Felt Watching His Interview