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American Morning

Pop Singer R. Kelly Denies Underage Sex Charges

Aired May 09, 2002 - 08:28   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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A shocking videotape of a man having sex with an underage girl has been circulating across the country lately. Is it even available on the Internet. Police say they are investigating allegations the star of the video is the Grammy-winning singer R. Kelly. Last night for the first time, the R&B superstar came forward and denied the whole thing.

Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

R. KELLY: 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: Well, if I've never done anything like that and this particular tape is supposedly being 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 am not a monster that people are saying I am. And if people out there have a tape of me and they're saying it's with me and a young girl, a minor, then they're sadly mistaken or they're 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, PLAINTIFFS' 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 (on camera): 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 number two on the Billboard 200 last month, it has suffered a significant decrease in sales and is now out of the top 30.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, "VIBE" MAGAZINE WRITER: I mean here's a multi platinum selling artist, he's 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 already be well on its way to platinum by now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 102.3 KJLH, the artists you, the songs you love.

BUCKLEY (voice-over): 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 the women said thumbs down. Get that creep out of here. We don't want to hear his music again or we'll turn the station.

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

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

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)

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