R. Kellys Publicist Says Meltdown During Interview With Gayle King Helped Singer

R. Kelly  screamed, cried, cursed and threw his arms during his interview with CBS News ’ Gayle King   behavior his publicist said would benefit the singer embroiled in sex abuse charges.

“I think it did help him,” Darrell Johnson told CNN ’s Don Lemon on Monday. “I don’t think the emotions were going so high, but he was being himself.”

Kelly, who in February was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse  involving four individuals, sat down with King earlier this month for a nearly 80-minute discussion on the accusations. All but one individual were under age 17 during the alleged incidents, which occurred between 1998 and 2010.

Kelly was nothing short of hysterical in his emphatic defense against accusations that he had held women against their will in a sex cult.

“If I was facing [70] years in the state penitentiary, I’m not going to say I would act like that,” Johnson said. “But I mean, how do you act when you’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison? I thought it was a real moment.” 

On Sunday, Pennsylvania man Gary Dennis claimed he had discovered a tape of Kelly sexually abusing girls. His lawyer, Gloria Allred, said Dennis didn’t know how the tape had come to be in his possession and that it had been handed over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. 

Lawyer Michael Avenatti said last month that he had videos  allegedly showing Kelly committing sexual assault. He said he had given them to prosecutors.

Johnson suggested the accusations aren’t worth much, despite the alleged videos and the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly ,” in which women recount horrific stories about the singer.

“I’m not calling anybody a liar,” he said. “What I would say to those people who have brought the facts to your attorneys: Present your facts and Mr. Kelly will have his day in court.”