Gayle King Discusses Her Explosive Interview With R. Kelly On 'The Late Show'

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Gayle King shared more details of her recent explosive interview with R. Kelly during an appearance on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on Thursday.

Transcript

00:00Gayle King has received widespread praise for her composure during her interview with

00:03disgraced singer R. Kelly, during which he screamed, paced wildly, beat his chest and

00:08was just generally combative. And on Thursday she spoke to late-night host Stephen Colbert

00:12about what was going through her head throughout the 80-minute sit-down.

00:15Stopping by CBS's The Late Show, King told Colbert,

00:17"...I could see him getting more heated. He was upset with me about some of the questions.

00:21That's okay. He was a little irritated. And that's okay."

00:24When I see Robert getting really upset, and he stands out of his seat, my initial reaction

00:30is, oh God, please don't leave, please don't leave, please don't leave.

00:33King's decision to remain calm was motivated by her desire to keep probing Kelly, with the

00:37CBS anchor saying to Colbert,

00:39"...if we'd both gotten emotional and amped up like that, what good would have come of that?"

00:42The CBS This Morning sit down and mark the first time Kelly has spoken out since Lifetime Surviving

00:46R. Kelly premiered in January. The docuseries detailed numerous sexual abuse allegations

00:51against him, allegations which Kelly has steadfastly denied. On Feb. 22, he was arrested in Chicago

00:57and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, pleaded not guilty,

01:00and was released the following week on bail. He is due back in court March 22 and could be

01:05facing 70 years in prison for his alleged misdeeds. Colbert asked King if at any point during

01:10the interview she had feared for her safety, but she assured him that she hadn't, saying,

01:13"...if you could have seen the thought bubble, it would have been, please sit back down. You're

01:19looking a little crazy right now, please sit back down." She had, however, told O the Oprah

01:23magazine that she had thought Kelly might accidentally hit her because he was flailing

01:26around so much in anger. Later in the interview, Colbert asked King her opinion on whether she

01:31thought it was still possible to appreciate the music of both Kelly and Michael Jackson in

01:35light of the disturbing allegations against them. King replied,

01:38"...for me it's hard to separate it now, and I think that, you know, you have to decide

01:43for yourself what you want to do, but these are different times, and we are hearing it

01:48now with different ears. We are paying attention to it in a way that we haven't paid attention

01:52to it before." King was also tasked with interviewing Joycely Lynn Savage and Azrael Clary, who are

01:5721 and 23 respectively, and who, according to their accounts, live with Kelly, who is 52,

02:02of their own free will. Both girls' parents have accused the R&B singer of brainwashing their

02:06daughters, and King had revealed on Thursday's episode of CBS This Morning that Kelly had

02:10been lurking in the back of the room during the interview despite assurances from his team

02:14that he would not be present while King questioned the girls. She said he also tried several

02:18times to stop the interview. The expanded interviews with Kelly and Savage & Clary will air

02:22on CBS on Friday night at 8 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, King said on CBS Evening News that

02:27Kelly's camp was pleased with her interview after the first part aired on Wednesday. Said King,

02:31they thought it gave Robert a chance to tell his story. To read more on this story, head to THR.com.

02:36For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

Gayle King Discusses Her Explosive Interview With R. Kelly On 'The Late Show' | THR News

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