Inside Edition spoke to psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere to get his take on the nearly 80-minute interview, during which R. Kelly became extremely emotional, yelling, screaming, jumping up from his seat and waving his arms inches from Gayle King’s face.
R. Kelly broke his silence about the allegations of sexual abuse he faces in a heated interview with CBS journalist Gayle King.
Inside Edition spoke to psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere to get his take on the moment in which Kelly became extremely emotional, yelling, screaming, jumping up from his seat and waving his arms inches from King’s face.
"He was extremely defensive, getting up once or twice to make a point," said Gardere. "... The way it was done, almost like he couldn't go on with the interview, that he was so enraged by everything that was going on. ... It seemed like it was so emotional, it was over the top."
Kelly, whose real name is Robert, was charged in February with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four alleged victims, three of whom were underage, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which came after the release of the Lifetime docu-series “Surviving R. Kelly.” The six-part documentary featured several women who accused Kelly of abuse dating back to the 1990s. Kelly denies all the allegations.
"He seemed like a person who was really in trouble," Gardere said of Kelly during the interview. "... It was really about how he felt and how he was, versus the needs of perhaps the people who he was involved with."
King was lauded for maintaining her composure during the at-times contentious interview, which had some wondering whether Kelly might have become physically aggressive toward King.
But Gardere said he never worried about things progressing that far. "It never occurred to me in watching this that he could be violent toward Gayle. ... I think there's enough impulse control there," he said.
The meltdown brought back horrible memories for Asante McGee, one of the singer's accusers who appeared in "Surviving R. Kelly."
"Once he started yelling, it really got to me because it brought back memories that I didn't want to bring back up," McGee said.
King also spoke to two of Kelly's live-in girlfriends, Azriel Clary, 21, and Joycelyn Savage, 23, who both say they are in committed relationships with Kelly.
"This is all f***ing lies for money," said Clary. "If you can't see that, you're ignorant and you're stupid."
Asked about their age by King, Kelly replied, "I don't look at 'much younger' than me, I just look at 'legal.'"
Kelly also said that the two were given to him willingly by their parents.
"You're saying the parents handed their daughters Azriel and Jocelyn over to you? Is that what you're saying to us?" asked King.
"Absolutely," Kelly replied.
But Savage's family claims she is being held against her will.
“I know that R. Kelly is mentally destroying her, and I just want her home,” her sister said Wednesday after the interview aired.
Kelly is out on bail following his arrest last month. The interview was conducted at Kelly's home in Chicago, where the singer keeps up a Christmas tree year-round in tribute to his late mother.
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