Justin M. Howard | October 13, 2021
Azriel Clary, who testified against R&B singer R Kelly (Robert Kelly) in his racketeering and sex trafficking case, is retracting her statements from a 2019 interview with CBS News. Kelly was found guilty on all nine racketeering counts and could face life in prison. In the 2019 interview with Gayle King, Clary said that her parents schemed to get Clary sexually involved with Kelly while she was a minor, unknown to Kelly, to blackmail the singer. Clary told Gayle King in a recent interview that she lied about everything. However, court transcripts and public records may indicate that Clary was telling the truth about her parents.
Azriel’s Parents Role in the R Kelly Case
Clary was 21 years old when she first sat down with CBS News in 2019. At the time, Clary was living with Kelly and another young woman named Joycelyn Savage. Both women defended Kelly adamantly and said that their parents were only out for money. “When I first met Robert, my parents told me to lie about my age. So when I met him he thought that I was 18. On top of that, when I was 17, my parents were making me take photos with him. Take sexual videos with him, all kinds of stuff. They said because if they ever have to blackmail him, which they’re trying to do now, they can use it against him.” Clary told CBS.
R Kelly Music Status
According to Rolling Stone, R Kelly’s music sales have increased since his sex-trafficking conviction. R Kelly’s album and streaming have grown from September 27 to October 3, R.Kelly’s on-demand audio streams rose 22 percent, and video streams upped to 23 percent compared to the previous seven days. Overall, his streams rose from 11.2 million to 13.4 million.
Two Youtube channels, RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, have been removed from the video platform. “The catalog of his music will however be available on YouTube Music, YouTube’s audio-streaming service, and the videos uploaded by other YouTube users will continue to be available,” Youtube said in a statement issued to Reuters.
In her latest interview, when asked what she lied about, Clary replied: “Everything, everything, everything before that interview, he had us practicing every single day.” Gayle King only questioned Clary about this portion of her testimony, completely ignoring the rest. Clary also testified that her mother texted R Kelly pretending to be her. Through text messages, the mother sent Kelly sensual photos of the teen and told him she was 18. The parents also arranged for Azriel to meet with Kelly at a hotel, where they immediately called the police to initiate a lawsuit, according to Azriel.
Sharron Winbush and Joycelyn Savage Speak Out
Sharron Winbush, R Kelly’s nutritionist, spoke to Tasha K about the case. Winbush elaborated on Clary’s meeting with Kelly at the hotel. “The police officer knocked on the door, asked Mr. Kelly to speak to whoever his guest was. The police officer asked her age, asked her for ID, she called her mother, the police officers spoke to the mother and the mother said: ‘she is grown she can do what she wants to do.’ Azriel lied to the police about her age, her mother lied to the police about her age, they both lied to Robert, that is in the transcripts of the court proceeding.”
What is the RICO act?
Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), a person can be charged and convicted if they have committed at least 2 of the 35 acts of racketeering found in the Federal Racketeering list of specific crimes. In the R Kelly case, prosecutors had to prove that women and minors were being held against their will and forced to engage in sex acts with others.
Joycelyn Savage, another woman who lived with Kelly and Clary, took to Instagram to weigh in on Clary’s remarks. “Now you want to change your story, you’ve been lying the whole time now you want to come on TV and say he made you say that stuff. It’s the constant change of stories for me. There is an attack on our black men. Women can easily lie and it be okay and be praised about it like how can you get on TV and keep lying on this man enough is enough.”
Sharron Winbush and the court records indicate that the Clary family exhibited predatory behavior as well. “So Azriel not only pursued Mr. Kelly, her parents took her to the concert. You have to be 18 by Ticketmaster’s terms and agreement to purchase the ticket. You had to be a mature audience based on Funk Fest terms and conditions to enter that event, and then she lied to him multiple times and lied to the police – so all of that is public record.”