Following R. Kelly’s conviction for racketeering and human trafficking in his sex assault case, Azriel Clary, who had previously claimed to be his girlfriend, sat down with Gayle King to discuss her relationship with him. This isn’t the first time Azriel has sat down with Gayle, as you may recall. Azriel teamed up with R. Kelly and Joycelyn Savage in 2019 to clean Kelly’s name, but Azriel confesses it was all a lie.
In R. Kelly’s trial, Azriel testified against him, alleging physical and mental abuse. In the latest interview, she claims Gayle coached her on how to answer any question Gayle could throw at her, and she claims he coached her on how to answer any question Gayle could throw at her. “He had us preparing every single day before that interview,” Azriel told Gayle. “We were practicing answering questions, and if he didn’t like what we said, he’d tell us exactly what to say and how to say it.
So if you bring up the subject of sexual preference, we know to say, “I’m not here to talk about that.” Azriel went on to tell Gayle that she decided to testify against Kelly because she understood she was being used and that he didn’t love her. “Why am I exposing myself for a man who put me here in the first place?” she wondered. “And I truly had to accept the fact that it wasn’t love, because love doesn’t hurt.” R. Kelly was found guilty in his sex assault case and will be sentenced in March 2022, as previously reported.