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Interview with Ed Gordon; Rising Career of R. Kelly Seriously Sidetracked

Aired May 09, 2002 - 14:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The rising career of R&B singer R. Kelly is being seriously sidetracked right now by allegations of sex with underage girls. Last night he talked about the scandal in an interview. And Frank Buckley, with more now and reaction, from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's the R&B artist who is probably best known for this song...

R. KELLY, SINGER (singing): I believe I can fly...

BUCKLEY: R. Kelly was a huge hit among R&B fans, on the verge of breakthrough stardom. But his breakthrough has come instead in a wave of negative publicity and allegations of videotaped sex with underage teenagers.

Two lawsuits alleging sex with minors were settled out of court. But on Wednesday night, Kelly appeared on BET and said he has never knowingly engaged in sex with minors.

KELLY: If I've never done anything like that -- and this particular tape is supposedly a tape with me and a young girl. I've done a lot of wrong things in my life, but I am not a criminal. I'm not the monster that people are saying I am.

And if people out there have a tape of me and they are saying it's with me and a young girl, a minor, then they're sadly mistaken or lying.

BUCKLEY: Kelly's attorneys announced last week that the entertainer intends to fight the most recent third lawsuit against him, that alleges he repeatedly had sex with a 16-year-old over a nine-month period and coerced her to have an abortion.

GERRY MARGOLIS, R. KELLY'S ATTORNEY: This latest suit is a collection of half truths, distortions and outright lies. And we intend to fight and beat it. The cash machine is closed.

BUCKLEY: Susan Loggans represents all three women who have sued the singer. SUSAN LOGGANS, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: I find that a disgusting and cavalier characterization of what happened. Because R. Kelly is the one that sought these girls out, creating these individual tragedies, creating the path by which they ultimately have to make claims.

BUCKLEY: The allegations have already hurt R. Kelly here at music stores. His newest album, for example, this team-up with rapper Jay-Z, was highly anticipated and was expected to be a mega hit. Instead, according to "Billboard" magazine, since its debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 last month, it has suffered a significant decrease in sales and is now out of the top 30.

LOLO OGUNNAIKE, "VIBE" MAGAZINE WRITER: I mean, here is a multiplatinum selling artist. He sold well over 10 million albums in his career. And his latest album with Jay-Z has yet to even go gold. Had this scandal not broken, I'm sure that it would be well on its way to platinum by now.

BUCKLEY: Radio stations like L.A.'s KJLH that once played his music regularly, now don't. Because the audience calls to complain when they do.

CLIFF WINSTON, KJLH PROGRAM DIRECTOR: All of the women said, thumbs down. Get that creep out of here. We don't want to hear the music again. We'll turn the station.

BUCKLEY: The singer told BET, however, he hopes fans will stick with him.

KELLY: I know that I'm not a criminal. People say that, but my music speaks for itself. And I believe in my music. I believe the people that buy my music believes in me. So I would just ask my fans to just focus on my music.

(singing): I believe I can touch the sky.

BUCKLEY: While some fans may choose to focus on his music, law enforcement officials in Illinois are looking into the allegations, which could result in criminal charges. Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Ed Gordon is the man who conducted that interview. He's the host of "BET Tonight." He was with R. Kelly. The second part of that interview will air later tonight. Ed Gordon joins us by telephone. Ed, good afternoon to you.

ED GORDON, HOST, "BET TONIGHT": Good afternoon, Bill.

HEMMER: Give us an idea, if you watch the public's reaction, one might think this was a business decision to sit down and talk with you. Do you have an understanding as to why R. Kelly talked now?

GORDON: I think part of it is a business decision. Clearly, when you're fighting for your life, as he said last night, you have to make a determination when it seems that most people have already made up their minds. He wanted to present finally his side of the story. And as you know, that can sometimes be complex if you're facing legal matters and issues.

But I also think he thought that he needed to tell his fans, in particular, but people who had questioned that, in his words, he is not a monster and that these allegations were false.

HEMMER: And you asked him about his annulled marriage, the late singer Aaliyah. She was 15. How did he handle that question?

GORDON: That's the one question that he flatly refused to talk about. I asked him then, if you don't want to talk about her. And he said because she was gone, he didn't want to talk about her, because she could not, quote, unquote, "defend herself."

I said, well, if you don't want to talk about her specifically, can you at least say that the annulment papers that have been shown and the marriage license that have been shown, were real? I thought that was a way for him to say, yes we were married and it was annulled at a time without really saying it. But he just chose flatly -- flatly refused to talk about it.

HEMMER: Part two of the interview airs tonight, right?

GORDON: That's right.

HEMMER: What more will we learn, Ed?

GORDON: He talks about what he sees as a smear campaign against him. He has had fights with business associates and the like. And I think he believes clearly that may be part of what he suggests is this tape, that it depicts someone who clearly looks like him, but he says unequivocally, that it is not him.

HEMMER: And quickly here, before we let you go, do you get a similar impression, as the impression we got from Frank Buckley's piece in L.A., that a number of fans that used to be fans are simply abandoning him right now?

GORDON: Clearly there are people who are weighing it, Bill. And I'm sure he's lost some fans. But I did a lot of radio this morning, and there are a good number of people who are still sticking with him.

HEMMER: Got it. Ed, thanks. Ed Gordon, host of "BET Tonight," by telephone. Thank you, sir.

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