R. Kelly Claims He’s Been “Assassinated” in Interview: “I’m Not Lucifer, I’m a Man”

The R&B singer denied he's been sexually abusing women and controlling their lives.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - FEBRUARY 25: R&B singer R. Kelly leaves the Cook County jail after posting $100 thousand bond on February 25, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.  Kelly was being held after turning himself in to face ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - FEBRUARY 25: R&B singer R. Kelly leaves the Cook County jail after posting $100 thousand bond on February 25, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly was being held after turning himself in to face ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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In an emotional interview with Gayle King of CBS This Morning, R. Kelly denied he’s been sexually abusing women and controlling their lives and said he’s being “assassinated.”

In the interview, the R&B singer’s first since being charged with sexually abusing four females (including three underage girls) dating back to 1998, Kelly said his accusers are “lying.”

“I’ve been assassinated; I’ve been buried alive. But I’m alive,” he said. “You all don’t want to believe the truth.”

Kelly also addressed the documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, which led to the charges against him being filed.

“I don’t really know what a cult is but I don’t have one,” Kelly said. “If you really look at that documentary, which I’m sure you have … everybody says something bad about me. Nobody said nothing good. They were describing Lucifer. I’m not Lucifer. I’m a man. I make mistakes, but I’m not a devil, and by no means am I a monster.”

At one point, the 52-year-old Kelly also said: “I’m an older man who loves all women.”

Following the interview, Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for two Kelly accusers, responded on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1103277880560082949

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1103280307174694912

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1103286370183766016

Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.

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