R. Kelly is currently sitting in jail awaiting his day in court while his publicist, Darrell Johnson, is out doing interviews on his behalf.
The singer faces charges for child pornography and other charges, but Johnson has continued to publicly support and defend the singer as his spokesperson. So far in the case, more than 20 alleged sex tapes with R. Kelly and underage girls have been uncovered by authorities and several of the alleged “enablers” will face charges as well.
As the story unfolds, Kelly’s publicist sat down for an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning and admits he “absolutely” wouldn’t leave his 20-something-year-old daughter alone with the singer.
Details + video below…
R&B singer R. Kelly will appear in federal court in Brooklyn court next month to face new sex crime charges. Federal prosecutors in Illinois and New York have charged the musician with a combined 18 counts including child pornography.
Kelly is accused of sexually exploiting women and girls over more than two decades. He has denied all allegations. Kelly is being held in a Chicago jail without bond. His crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss Kelly’s mental state and whether or not he believes he will be acquitted.
When asked if he would trust his daughter with Kelly, Johnson told King:
Absolutely not. I would not leave my daughter with anyone who’s accused of pedophilia. I would not leave my daughter with anyone that’s accused of being a pedophile. I would not.
It was an interesting, albeit honest response but still shocking coming from someone claiming to be speaking on behalf of R. Kelly. When King pressed for clarification, Johnson reiterated his stance, stating:
I wouldn’t leave my daughter with anyone — I’m going to say it again — that’s accused of being a pedophile.
Still, Johnson maintains that he is defending R. Kelly, who has been accused of having inappropriate sexual relations with underage women since the 90s.
Here’s what I say: I never call anybody a liar. I came on seven months ago. I walked into a front door, and I seen Mr. Kelly being a normal person … Mr. Kelly was recording. Twenty minutes later, [the two women] walked in with shopping bags, no security, free [to go], doing what they wanted to do, and I spent a lot of time with Mr. Kelly. And I still say my eye is trained. I haven’t seen anything that would cause me to be suspicious.
They’ve indicted Mr. Kelly. He’s in jail right now. He will have his day in court. And they’ll have to bring the evidence. And that’s what has to be done. If the evidence sticks, Mr. Kelly will spend the rest of his life in the penitentiary.
Mr. Kelly does have royalties that come in so he’s living off some of his royalties. Early on, fans and friends gave a lot of donations.
Johnson does reveal that he’s concerned about R. Kelly’s mental health and states that the singer might even be on suicide watch.
[He’s] a mess right now. He’s afraid, he’s scared, he’s isolated. I would assume that he is [on suicide watch]… Nobody wants to be locked down 24 hours, no TV.
He can’t read and write, so he can’t read a book. It’s almost as if he’s already been — a jury has convicted him.
When you’re in the state of mind Mr. Kelly is in right now, any person, including myself and you, would probably want the authorities be cautious of what has taken place.