Gayle King on Keeping It Cool During Tense R. Kelly Interview: ‘I Just Knew That I Was Never in Danger’

In a tense sit-down interview with CBS This Morning‘s Gayle King, R. Kelly vehemently denied allegations of sexual and physical abuse towards a number of women and denied that the two twentysomething women who are currently living with him are being held against their will.   

When asked specifically if he’s ever held anybody against their will, the singer broke down in tears, stood up and began shouting, “Stop it, y’all quit playing. I didn’t do this stuff. I didn’t do this stuff. I’m fighting for my f—ing life.” After his emotional outburst, CBS reported that Kelly took a moment with his publicist to calm down.   

Following the interview, Oprah Mag sat down with O Magazine’s editor at large King to discuss how she kept it together throughout the borderline scary interaction, plus what else can be expected from the remainder of her interview with the R&B singer.  

“I was not scared. I never thought he was going to hit me,” she explained of the moment Kelly stood up. “After, Oprah and my kids Kirby and Will called me to ask if I was okay because it looked scary. But I was never worried he was going to hurt me. I was more worried that he was going to get up and leave.”  

“I just knew that I was never in danger. I did worry at some points that he might accidentally hit me, because he was so angry that he was flailing,” she continued. “But I knew that I wasn’t in any real danger. I just kept thinking ‘Okay, Robert, go ahead’ and that’s what I said.”  

As for what viewers can expect from upcoming interviews, King mentioned her conversations with Kelly’s girlfriends. “Tomorrow, you’ll see when I interviewed his two girlfriends, Joycelyn and Azriel. And to my surprise, they were very angry. At everyone,” she explained. “They feel that Robert has been maligned, that their own parents are lying…that interview is very eye opening. We also talk about R. Kelly’s finances, because I wanted to know: How is someone who has made millions of dollars over the years not able to post a $100,000 bond so they don’t have to spend any time in jail? So, yes, we had a lot to discuss, and there’s more coming.”

Read the full interview with King here.