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American Morning

'Village Voice' Columnist Discusses R. Kelly Child Porn Charges

Aired June 06, 2002 - 08:22   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: You have seen his music videos, but a different kind of video has singer R. Kelly facing child pornography charges. Kelly was arrested yesterday in connection with a videotape that allegedly shows him having sex with an underage girl. That's obviously not what you're looking at here, but there has been talk for months about whether, in fact, he is the man seen on the tape, which has been sold on the streets.

And in the TV interview last month, the singer himself addressed the rumors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R. KELLY, SINGER: I've done a lot of wrong things in my life, but I am not a criminal, and I'm not the monster that people are saying I am. And if people out there have a tape of me, and it's with me and a young girl, a minor, then they're sadly mistaken or they're lying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So, will the sex scandal ground Kelly's soaring career?

Joining us now, "Village Voice" columnist Michael Musto.

Good to see you. Welcome.

MICHAEL MUSTO, COLUMNIST, "THE VILLAGE VOICE": Hi, Paula.

ZAHN: I wanted to start off this morning by reading a small part of the statement that R. Kelly released yesterday on the heels of this arrest. He said, "Even though I don't believe any of these charges are warranted, I am grateful that I will have a chance to establish the truth about me in a court of law. I have complete faith in our system of justice. I am confident that when all the facts come out, people will see that I'm no criminal."

MUSTO: Well, of course, he is innocent until proven guilty. But I find it interesting that he says "I am absolutely not the person in the video" but then he says, "but I haven't seen the video." He also does have a sort of history. He married the late pop singer Aaliyah when she was 15. She apparently lied about her age to get married. He's also had three other sexual lawsuits, two of which were settled out of court, with minors. So we don't know what the actual, you know, facts are about that. And he has another lawsuit of a woman who says that she was videotaped having sex with R. Kelly without her knowledge.

ZAHN: So do you believe anything he said in that statement?

MUSTO: I personally don't believe him, but obviously he has to go through the court procedure, and it has to be determined in a fair way.

ZAHN: When he goes through this court procedure, let's say that he is not found guilty. Nevertheless, the controversy, one would think, has had, has to have, some sort of resonance -- or will it?

MUSTO: Sure it will. It's already had a chilling effect on his career because JayZee, a fellow rapper who did a project with R. Kelly that's just come out, has refused to do any publicity with R. Kelly because of the scandal. He doesn't want to be associated with it. And already there are radio stations that are second-guessing whether they should play his music because of the controversy around him.

ZAHN: How about the record companies themselves, because there has been the allegation over the years they've simply ignored this noise, because he makes so much money for them?

MUSTO: Sure, he's a huge seller and in rock and rap music, quote "bad behavior" sometimes is worn as a badge of honor. But in this case, pedophilia is nothing that cute. You know, it's not like a drug problem or something self-inflicted. Even though this may have been consensual sex, this is something very damaging in people's eyes, and I think even the record companies that are very money hungry are going to think twice about promoting R. Kelly.

ZAHN: Did you hear any feedback yesterday from any record company execs that might help us understand which strategy they plan to use as we go down this long courtroom romp?

MUSTO: I think there's going to be a distancing effect. I mean, this has been in the news for a long time with these allegations, and I think people are not going to want to be too close to R. Kelly no matter what the outcome, because it's just too hot to handle at this point.

ZAHN: And if any of these allegations are true, why would he have taken these risks?

MUSTO: You know what? Celebrities have their own frailties, just like everyone else. Usually, they're magnified and larger because they're living life in a faster lane than everyone else. And the public has become more jaded and more aware of the frailties and more willing to forgive celebrities. But in this case, it's really not cute. It's something very damaging.

ZAHN: Well, we look forward to having you help us stay on top of the story.

Michael Musto, thank you for dropping by AMERICAN MORNING.

MUSTO: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: We look forward to reading your pieces in "The Village Voice."

We were just talking about this. Bill, "The Village Voice" stopped charging for the paper years ago.

MUSTO: Yes.

ZAHN: And you survive solely on raising, jacking up the advertising rates.

MUSTO: The circulation went way up because we give it away, and everybody wants it, and the ad rates went up. And it pays my rent. I love it.

ZAHN: What a concept.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm glad it pays your rent, too.

MUSTO: Thank you.

HEMMER: That's a good thing in this city.

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