At long last, R. Kelly might have just given us the key to getting rid of him for good. In a broadcast interview with the Huffington Post’s Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani today, the alleged sexual predator fielded statements from fans on Twitter who say they love his music but don’t want to support him as a person, as an alleged serial rapist. “When I start to hear [that] when I step on that stage … from 20 to 50,000 fans, I will never show up to that venue and any other venue again. But until then, I will continue to do R. Kelly,” he said “The only ones who can fire me is my fans.”
Kelly came into the interview to promote his new album, The Buffet, and Modarressy-Tehrani started out with softball questions from readers. “What is your formula for hit making?” asked user Yolanda_DavidsonCarter. “Since the earlier 1990s you have been able to continuously make relevant music.”
But when Modarressy-Tehrani shifted the discussion to his morally conflicted fans, Kelly got flustered. “When you think about R. Kelly, I think people find it very difficult to not think about the multiple lawsuits, the multiple allegations of you having inappropriate relations, sex relations, with minors,” Modarressy-Tehrani said.
“I’m a man that believes what I see, and everywhere I go, from malls to restaurants…I get nothing but love,” countered Kelly.
He talked over her for a few minutes, trying to prevent her from reading another tweet about his history of alleged abuse. When she pressed the issue, Kelly “I am going to sit here and talk to you like the beautiful lady you are,” he said, but promised that if Modarressy-Tehrani asked another “negative” question, he’d get up, walk out, and go to McDonald’s.
Kelly made a direct hit at Modarressy-Tehrani’s mental capacity in the latter segment of the interview. “I did not come here to get interrogated. I didn’t come her for a deposition. Do you know what a deposition is?” he said when she shifted her line of questioning to the sexual content of Kelly’s lyrics. And later: “If you don’t think you’re disrespecting me, that’s just the level of your intelligence, not mine.”
He finally did walk out, but not before telling Modarressy-Tehrani once again that she’s beautiful and that he loves her. Modarressy-Tehrani stayed calm, collected, and ready with a comeback: “You don’t need to give me any of your love, sir.”
