R. Kelly goes back to jail, takes risks with TV interview

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R. Kelly goes back to jail, takes risks with TV interview

2019-03-07 12:11 Last Updated At：12:20

R. Kelly's day began with a nationally televised broadcast in which he whispered, cried and ranted while pleading with viewers to believe him: He'd never had sex with anyone under 17 and never held anyone against her will.

The day ended with a trip to jail after the embattled R&B singer told a judge he could not pay $161,000 in back child support he owes his children's mother.

Kelly no doubt hoped the raw interview aired Wednesday on "CBS This Morning" would help sway public opinion about the charges filed last month that accuse him of sexually abusing three girls and a woman. The interview was his first public defense since being charged and the first time he addressed allegations in the Lifetime series "Surviving R. Kelly," which aired in January. The documentary alleged that he held women captive and ran a "sex cult."

But experts said his appearance was also risky and could backfire if it gives prosecutors more information to use against him at trial. That's why most defense attorneys urge clients to keep quiet.

"In my history as a prosecutor, I loved it when a defendant would say things or make comments about his or her defense," said Illinois Appellate Judge Joseph Birkett, who said he did not watch the Kelly interview and was speaking only as a former prosecutor. "I would document every word they said ... (and) I could give you example after example where their statements backfired."

There have been cases in which people who spoke up pointed to evidence that ultimately helped win their freedom, but, Birkett said, "historically it's a bad idea."

One recent example was "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who was charged with falsely reporting a racist, anti-gay attack in Chicago. In charging documents, prosecutors cited statements he made during an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" identifying two people in a still photo of the surveillance video as his attackers. Two brothers pictured in the photo later told police that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack because he wanted a raise and to further his career.

In Kelly's case, he and his attorney might have decided they had nothing to lose after the Lifetime series, said Fred Thiagarajah, a prominent Newport Beach, California, attorney and former prosecutor.

"A lot of the public already thinks he's guilty, and there is a very negative image of him, so the only thing he might think he can do is try to change their minds," Thiagarajah said. If the evidence against him is overwhelming, "this kind of interview might be kind of a Hail Mary" to influence a potential jury pool.

But the dangers of such an interview might outweigh any benefits if Kelly locked himself into a particular defense, Thiagarajah said. "He may not know all the evidence against him."

In the CBS interview, for example, he denied ever having sex with anyone under 17, even though he married the late singer Aaliyah when she was 15, and a videotape given to prosecutors in his current case purports to show Kelly having sex with a girl who repeatedly says she's 14. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, has said his client did not "knowingly" have sex with underage girls.

Thiagarajah said he might allow a client to do such an interview — but only if he were confident the client could keep his emotions in check and "stick to a script."

"If you get someone who is ranting and raving, I would never let that kind of person ever do an interview," he said.

On Wednesday's broadcast, Kelly's emotions swung wildly as he explained he was simply someone with a "big heart" who was betrayed by liars who hoped to cash in.

In a particularly dramatic moment, he angrily stood up and started pacing, his voice breaking as he yelled, "I didn't do this stuff! This is not me!" He cried as he hit his hands together, saying, "I'm fighting for my (expletive) life."

He insisted people were trying to ruin his 30-year career, but then said his fight was "not about music."

"I'm trying to have a relationship with my kids and I can't do it" because of the sex-abuse allegations, he shouted. "You all just don't want to believe it."

Hours later, Kelly went to the child-support hearing "expecting to leave. He didn't come here to go to jail," said his publicist, Darryll Johnson, who said Kelly was prepared to pay $50,000 to $60,000. He said Kelly did not have the whole amount because he has not been able to work.

A spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff's Office said Kelly would not be released from jail until he pays the full child-support debt. His next hearing was scheduled for March 13.

After his Feb. 22 arrest in Chicago, Kelly spent a weekend in jail before someone posted his $100,000 bail. His defense attorney said at the time that Kelly's finances were "a mess."

Following the court hearing, the publicist said that the singer "feels good" about the TV interview.

CBS said it interviewed Kelly for 80 minutes. More of the interview is expected to air Thursday.

Interviews with two women who live with Kelly — Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary — will air Thursday. Savage's parents insist she is being held against her will. Kelly suggested during the interview that her parents were in it for the money and blamed them for his relationship with their daughter, saying they brought her to watch him perform when she was a teenager.

A lawyer representing the couple bristled at the allegation, saying Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage never asked for or received money from Kelly. The couple said they have not spoken to their 23-year-old daughter for two years and asked Kelly to make her available to talk to them.

"At no point did this family sell their daughter to anyone or provide their daughter for anything for money," attorney Gerald Griggs said Wednesday during a news conference.

Kelly acknowledged in the interview that he had done "lots of things wrong" when it comes to women, but he said he had apologized. The singer blamed social media for fueling the allegations against him. He also said that all of his accusers are lying.

The 52-year-old recording artist has been trailed for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves. Kelly has consistently denied any sexual misconduct and was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008. Those charges centered on a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13.

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

Rising from poverty on Chicago's South Side, Kelly broke into the R&B scene in 1993 with his first solo album, "12 Play," which produced such popular sex-themed songs as "Your Body's Callin'" and "Bump N' Grind." He has written numerous hits for himself and other artists, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. One of his best-known hits is "I Believe I Can Fly."

This story has been corrected to show that interviews with two women who live with Kelly will air Thursday, not Friday.

Associated Press Writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this story

Check out the AP's complete coverage of the investigations into R. Kelly.

Spokesman for Iran's Revolutionary Guard insists Tehran still building missiles

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The spokesman for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted Friday that Tehran was still building missiles, seeking to counter a claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it no longer could.

Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini made the comments in a report quoted by Iran’s state-run IRAN newspaper.

Referencing how Iranian schools consider a 20 as a perfect score, the general said: “Our missile industry score is 20 and there is no concern in this regard because we are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling.”

He also said the war would go on.

“These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted,” the general said of the Iranian public. “This war must end when the shadow of war is lifted from the country.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Kuwaiti oil refinery came under attack early Friday from Iranian drones and sirens sounded in Israel warning of incoming fire, while explosions boomed over Tehran as Israel hit Iran as the country marked the Persian New Year.

As the war that has rocked the global economy neared the end of its third week, Iran showed no signs of letting up on its attacks on Gulf region energy structure as Kuwait said drone strikes at its Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery sparked a fire and crews were working to control the blaze.

The refinery, which can process some 730,000 barrels of oil per day, was already damaged Thursday in another Iranian attack. It is one of three oil refineries in Kuwait, a tiny, oil-rich nation on the Persian Gulf.

Iran stepped up its attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states after Israel on Wednesday bombed Iran’s massive South Pars offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.

In addition to steadily striking Iran, Israel has regularly hit Lebanon, targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah. On Friday, it broadened its attacks further, saying it had hit sites in Syria in response to attacks on the Druze population in the country's south.

Heavy explosions shook Dubai as air defenses intercepted early incoming fire over the city, where people were observing Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and mosques made the day’s first call to prayers.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said a fire broke out after shrapnel from an intercepted projectile landed on a warehouse, and Saudi Arabia reported shooting down multiple drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

The renewed attacks came after an intense day that saw Iran hit energy infrastructure around the region and launch more than a dozen missile salvos at Israel following the attack on South Pars.

South Pars, the Iranian part of the world’s largest gas field, is located offshore in the Persian Gulf and owned jointly with Qatar. With some 80% of power generated in Iran coming from natural gas, the attack posed a direct threat to the country’s electricity supplies.

Late Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would hold off on any further attacks on the gas field at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump after the Iranian response sent oil prices skyrocketing.

Beyond Iran's attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors, its stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and other critical goods are transported, has caused rising concerns of a global energy crisis.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, which spiked to more than $119 a barrel during Iran's attacks Thursday, was around $107 in morning trading on Friday, up more than 47% since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the conflict.

In Israel, sirens sounded early Friday warning of attacks on Jerusalem and on the north of the country, sending people again scrambling to shelters. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Not long after Israel announced that it had begun new strikes on Iran, the sound of explosions were heard in Tehran, as Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year. No further details were immediately available.

Israel also said it hit infrastructure belonging to Syria in response to attacks on Druze population in Sweida.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency did not immediately acknowledge the attack and further details were not immediately available.

Israel has a significant Druze population. Israel previously has intervened in defense of the Druze in Syria, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus.

More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the war. Israeli strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon have displaced more than 1 million people, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 1,000 people have been killed. Israel says it has killed more than 500 Hezbollah militants.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. Four people were also killed in the occupied West Bank by an Iranian missile strike.

At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

The UAE said Friday it disrupted what it called “a terrorist network funded and operated by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran.”

It arrested five men accused of laundering money, alleging they were "operating within the country under a fictitious commercial cover” that sought to carry out schemes that would threaten the country’s financial stability.

It published images of five prisoners on its state-run WAM news agency, without identifying them.

Rising reported from Bangkok. Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Florida, contributed to this report.