R. Kelly's Girlfriend Alleges Parents Asked Her to Lie About Age When Meeting the Singer

Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage are speaking out about their relationship with R. Kelly, who is [...]

By Libby Birk

Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage are speaking out about their relationship with R. Kelly, who is facing 10 counts of sexual abuse charges.

Despite the allegations against the 52-year-old, both women live with Kelly in Chicago and consider themselves his girlfriends. They even told Gayle King in a CBS This Morning interview that aired Thursday that they both are in love with him. Meanwhile, their parents claim that their daughters have been brainwashed by the R&B singer and are part of an alleged sex cult.

Kelly has repeatedly denied all accusations against him, and claims that both sets of parents "handed" their daughters over to him. He said he met Savage, 23, when her father brought her to a concert when she was 19. He said he met Clary, 21, at one of his concerts when she was 17.

Clary claimed that her parents encouraged her to pretend to be older when she first met Kelly.

"When I first met Robert my parents told me to lie about my age," Clary told King. "So, when I met him, he thought that I was 18. On top of that, when I was 17, my parents were actually making me, trying to get me to take photos with him, take sexual videos with him. All kinds of stuff... They said [it was] because if they ever have to blackmail him — what they're trying to do now — they can use it against him, which is exactly what they're doing."

She denied that she had sex with Kelly when she was 17, something Kelly also said he "absolutely" did not do, "although her parents wanted [her] to." Clary claimed that her parents are speaking out against Kelly for financial gain.

At one point in the interview, Clary started crying, calling King and the media "ignorant" and "stupid."

"I'm crying because you guys don't know the truth. You guys are believe some f—ing facade that our parents are saying," Clary said through tears. "This is all f—ing lies for money and if you can't see that you're ignorant and you're stupid as f— because you want to be. All because that's the world we live in. Negativity sells. Gossip is what sells. Rumors are what sell."

When King countered that there were "decades" of allegations against Kelly, Clary said, "We're not here to talk about decades. We're here to talk about what our parents are doing right now. And what they're doing right now is all for money."

She claimed that her parents "know that I've been well taken care of" and said that her father is "a manipulative liar."

"He's the manipulator. He's very manipulative. So, he's the one you need to watch out for," Clary said. "My dad and my mom, they're starting to send threats to both me and him. They said, 'Oh I'll put all your naked pictures all over the world. I'm going to ruin you. I'm going to ruin him. If he doesn't send $20,000 to this bank account by Monday I'm going to put everything out there and then $10,000 after that.' You're trying to solicit me like I'm some f—ing h—. I'm not. I'm your child."

Clary's parents, Alice and Angelo Clary, sent out a statement via their attorney, Michael Aventatti. The Clarys alleged that their daughter has "suffered severe mental abuse" and called Kelly a "liar, manipulator and sociopath."

"We love our daughter Azriel very much and we miss her," the statement read. "Azriel has suffered severe mental abuse at the hands of R. Kelly for years. She is also likely suffering from symptoms similar to those found with Stockholm Syndrome. R. Kelly is a liar, a manipulator and sociopath who must be brought to justice for his decades of sexual assault on underage girls. All of these victims and their parents cannot be lying."

On Wednesday, Kelly returned to jail in Chicago for unpaid child support in the amount of $161,663. That same day, Detroit police confirmed that they're investigating Kelly for allegedly having intercourse with a teenage girl almost 20 years ago.

CBS will air The Gayle King Interview with R. Kelly as a one-hour special on Friday, March 8 at 8 p.m. ET.

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