Gayle King Says Azriel Clary's 'Terrified' Parents Called Her About Their Daughter

The Clary parents have accused singer R. Kelly of essentially brainwashing their now-21-year-old child.
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CBS’s Gayle King said on Thursday night that the parents of 21-year-old Azriel Clary, who contend their daughter has been “brainwashed” by R. Kelly, are “terrified” for their child.

The “CBS This Morning” host revealed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that Angelo Clary had called her after a segment of her interview with his daughter aired this week.

“Azriel’s dad called me ― because I’ve been talking to him during this process ― to apologize he said ‘for the behavior of my daughter,’” King noted, adding that he essentially described his daughter’s conduct as abnormal.

Angelo and Alice Clary are among a number of parents who have repeatedly accused Kelly of “brainwashing,” abuse and holding women against their will. The Clarys say they have been fighting to see their daughter for years.

Parents Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage held a press conference on Wednesday to share similar concerns for their 23-year-old daughter, Joycelyn Savage, who they say they haven’t seen since December 2016.

Kelly met the two young women when they were in their late teens, and both of them now live with the 52-year-old R&B singer. During his sit-down interview with King, segments of which aired this week, Kelly described Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary are his “girlfriends.”

In their joint interview with King, the two women said they’re both in a “strong relationship” with the singer.

When King questioned them on the sexual nature of that relationship, Azriel Clary replied, “Sexually, well first of all, I’m not here to talk about my personal life, and I would never share with no one what I do in or outside of the bedroom.”

She added later, “There are people all over the world who have multiple girlfriends ― it’s no different.”

On “The Late Show,” King said when she was interviewing the two women, Kelly entered the room ― even though he wasn’t supposed to be there, according to CBS.

“R. Kelly comes back in and he can hear the conversation. He’s out of my eyesight and he’s out of the girls’ eyesight, too ― they did not see him,” she said.

But King said that periodically throughout the interview, Kelly would cough loudly.

The singer, who has faced at least two decades of sexual misconduct allegations, pleaded not guilty last month to 10 charges of aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, three of whom were allegedly minors.

Kelly has consistently denied any sexual misconduct. He was taken into custody on Wednesday after he told a judge that he couldn’t pay his full child-support debt.

Both the Savage and Clary parents have fiercely denied claims made by Kelly and their daughters on CBS this week that they had essentially offered their daughters to the singer and sought money from him.

On Wednesday, Alice and Angelo Clary’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, released a statement on their behalf accusing Kelly of lying. “R. Kelly is a desperate liar and serial abuser of young girls who should die in prison,” the statement read in part. “All of the victims and parents cannot be lying.”

In a second statement on Thursday, Avenatti said, “Sadly, like so many girls before them, Azriel [Clary] and Joycelyn Savage have been manipulated and convinced by Kelly to lie to protect him from serious criminal charges.”

During an interview on “CBS This Morning” this week, Timothy Savage said, “The only thing I’ve asked from R. Kelly is one thing: to see my daughter to make sure she’s healthy and fine.”

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