"This is not me. And repeatedly, she referred to the witnesses as girls before correcting herself to women, a fraught mistake in a trial that involves repeated allegations of sex with minors. Azriel Clary, who had previously defended R. Kelly in a 2019 CBS News interview, spoke out about how she felt while testifying against him in federal court last month. (witnesses will) tell you all these negative things, theyre going to form a picture that basically Mr. Kelly is this monster.. He faces eight counts of violating the Mann Act, not four. Some people question why Azriel didnt immediately leave once R. Kelly was arrested in July 2019 if he did do all these horrific things as well as carefully coach her through the aforecited interview. To convict Kelly on racketeering, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years, jurors had to find him guilty of at least two of 14 'predicate acts' the crimes elemental to the wider pattern of illegal wrongdoing. Everyone just knows a very frightened version of me, a side of me that was very much vulnerable, taken advantage of, a very young, naive side of me. For all these reasons and more Angelo says his daughter's stress level is high as she prepares for her testimony, but he's adamant Azriel will not back down. After all, she once expressed, this public experience made her wake up from the brainwashing shed endured for nearly five years, driving her to call her parents and escape in December 2019. There are two John Does mentioned in the uncharged evidence whose stories will likely come up later in the trial. Need help? Once there, however, he said he needed to ejaculate first before he could hear her sing. Script reading starts at: 29:40Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSzeUR2m3JesO8U6rKfGTnA/join#WhitneyDTV #WhitnessGang #WhitnessNationSPRIZZY here to help ADVERTISE your YOUTUBE VIDEOS (NO BOTS! Some key allegations from the trial include: The guilty verdict followed21 days of evidence including 50 witnesses and hours of searing testimony. ", In an exclusive interview, @gayleking speaks with Azriel Clary, one of the R. Kelly survivors who testified against him in court.You are never too old to wake up and say, Hey, I thought this was good for me, but its actually not, she says of speaking out against Kelly. 'A piece of me was happy because I felt like this person no longer has control over me. You are never too old to wake up and say: "Hey, I thought this was good for me but it's actually not."'. Kelly is facing 10 years to life in prison if convicted in the New York case. I'm compassionate, and no one got to see that side of me. Clary revealed in court that she had not been honest during that interview because Kelly had been present in the room during the taping and had watched them closely. "Everything that we were living in had become very normal, and I had to break out of that. From what they wore to what they ate, and from their bathroom trips to their sexual experiences whether together or in groups up to five times a day the R&B singer governed each element. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. She had told him she was 19, but after their first sexual contact she felt uncomfortable and showed him her state ID card proving her true age. It obviously hasnt been an easy journey for Azriel to reach this stage. In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text loveis to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline. 5 is one of six Jane Does whose stories will be used as evidence in Kellys trial. "I really had . Azriel left Kellys premises seven months after the interview and returned to her family. The 54-year-old singer also has pending criminal cases in Minnesota and Illinois. Why am I exploiting myself for a man who has me in this position in the first place? And I really had to come to terms and, you know, realize that it wasnt love. Clary testified that Kelly was the first and only man shed been intimate with. Related: R. Kellys Ex-Girlfriend Azriel Clary Is Calling Him Out On Social Media For Continuing To Request Early Release From Prison. She toldREVOLT: My creative process has been enhanced a lot, actually. Clary, 23, was one of the women who lived with Kelly at his home in Chicago. 'So me, being very young at that time, I just learned to normalize it,' she recalled, adding that there was nothing anybody could've said or done to help her escape the abusive situation earlier. However, Clary was telling a different narrative to King on Wednesday when she was interviewed for the first time since testifying against her ex-lover in court, saying that their relationship was abusive. He faces a racketeering charge more commonly used against mob bosses, drug cartels and the like. He gave me a kiss, and he said we would figure it out, she said. Various charges were made against him. Pace said she did not recall how many times they were together in Olympia Fields, but it was always at his bidding, and when she was there she had to follow his rules.. Its been three years since Azriel survived R. Kelly and over a year since she testified against him in court, detailing every atrocious, bold, heinous facet, only to finally be able to say she was naive. In outlining their evidence for the jury Wednesday morning, prosecutors described the hotel in suburban Rosemont where Kelly married underage Aaliyah in the 1990s, the old Rock n Roll McDonalds in River North where he allegedly tried to pick up a teenager, and the studio on Chicagos West Side that was the site of many of his alleged abuses. GO SUBSCRIBE PLEASE! despite what her family describes as attempts to scare her away from. Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Kelly's accusers were 'indoctrinated' into his world, groomed for sex and kept in line by 'coercive means of control' including isolation and cruel disciplinarily measures. Reporters and spectators wait in line outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn for opening statements on Aug. 18, 2021, in R&B star R. Kelly's long-anticipated federal trial in New York arising from years of allegations that he sexually abused women and girls. My arms, my face, my butt, she said. KEEP YA YONI FRESH LADIES! I was trying to run from him and fight back, but Im literally no match, said Doe, who was 4 feet, 11 inches and 98 pounds at the time. "It was very disturbing to have to relive those moments," Clary, 23, told Gayle King in a CBS Mornings interview that aired Thursday. Clary released her first song,Liar, Liar,in autumn 2021, followed bySounds of an AngelandInside Mein spring 2022. Doe also. [Music] was one of the biggest tools that helped me find myself again, Azriel told Revolt. Beckers opening statement, which ran for more than two hours, was so long that Judge Ann M. Donnelly recessed for lunch in the middle of it. A few times, Becker praised Kellys mental acuity, his work ethic, his adoring fans and his beautiful music until she had to stop when prosecutors objected or Donnelly called for a sidebar. Contact Tasneem Nashrulla at [email protected]. Clary's testimony played a 'key' role in the trial, King said, noting that parts of it were so 'graphic and painful' that the judge didn't even allow some parts to be released. Angelo Clary and Alice Clary are her parents. Im outgrowing old habits, and its really just a great place to be in.. Does experience is eerily similar to that of Aaliyahs, whom Kelly married when she was just 15 with the aid of a fake ID. Her parents famously fought for her safe return,f as featured in the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, alleging that Azriel was part of a cult and severely brainwashed and manipulated by the disgraced R&B singer. Get TMZ breaking news sent right to your browser! Clary described how Kelly would manipulate her and other women and threaten to throw them "around this entire room" if he found out that they had tried to discuss any attempt to escape. NEW YORK Half her lifetime ago, Jerhonda Johnson Pace was a teenage R. Kelly superfan, a member of his MySpace fan club, so devoted that she went to the Cook County Criminal Courthouse in 2008 to show support during the singers first criminal case. Image Credit: CBS News. Yeah, you might hear that, she said. When the New York trial against R. Kelly commenced in August 2021, Azriel Clary was one of the prime witnesses against him. "And so we were we came in angry," Clary said. Azriel Clary, one of the women who survived prolonged abuse by R. Kelly, discussed the singer's recent Brooklyn trial in an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings. What is The Irregulars about? Kelly has for decades faced a multitude of sexual assault allegations; in 1997 Tiffany Hawkins filed the first of many complaints when she alleged he sexually harassed and sexually battered her while she was a minor. Kelly is also accused of sexually abusing and impregnating Aaliyah Haughton when she was 15. Some of his accusers were finally able to testify against him during the trial after their hush-money NDAs, which paid up to $1.5million each in exchange for their silence, was overturned by a Brooklyn judge. He took my virginity, she said, in matter-of-fact terms. Clary told Gayle King in 2021 that Kelly told her to fake anger during her 2019 interview. Prosecutors say Robert Sylvester Kelly, 54, ran a Chicago-based criminal enterprise for nearly three decades and that he used to 'target, groom and exploit girls, boys and women' for unwanted sex and mental torment. Clary and Joycelyn Savage said they were Kellys girlfriends and tried to paint the disgraced singer as a misunderstood saint. Soon after the six-part docuseries aired in January 2019, Illinois Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx said her office was contacted by two Chicago families who believed their relatives were being involuntarily held by Kelly. Azriel Clary -- one of R. Kelly's former girlfriends -- remains steadfast in testifying against him in his federal sex crimes case despite what her family describes as attempts to scare her away from going through with it. After joining high school in Orlando, Florida, she started playing instruments and learned proper voice control. In 2015, Doe thought she was pregnant. She woke up with her underwear off, and saw Kelly in the corner doing up his pants, Melendez said. 21 days of evidence including 50 witnesses and hours of searing testimony. Music was the thing that helped me when I was very depressed and at my lows. From there she traveled to other parts of the country to visit Kelly on tour stops. 12:07 EST 30 Sep 2021. "I was lost, and I felt invisible, and I gave someone that control over me to basically make me do whatever it was that they wanted me to do," Clary told King in a new interview, her first since the trial. Until now, justice has been elusive for Kellys victims, some of whom were threatened or paid into silence. She had to wear baggy clothes around him, had to call him Daddy, stand up and kiss him or look at him whenever he entered a room, and when she disagreed with him she got a slap in the face or worse, she said. Love doesnt hurt, you know?. "And so I feel like that's why it was important for me to come back here and see you again, because it is OK to change your mind. "It kind of made me kind of wake up in a sense, and realize, 'Why am I acting like this? Jane Doe No. Pace, now 28, married and expecting her fifth child, recounted on Wednesday the first time she and Kelly had sex: in the game room at his mansion in suburban Olympia Fields. Clary left the Chicago apartment she shared with Kelly seven months after her 2019 interview with King. AZRIEL CLARY TESTIMONY Day 1 TRANSCRIPT (Pages 940-975) READING LIVE!Sorry Im long winded, working on it! Jane Doe No. "I didn't do this stuff," he said in the interview. Azriel's father, Angelo, tells TMZ nobody's forcing his daughter to testify -- it's her decision based on her belief that what Kelly did to her and others is wrong, and she wants to do it for the sake of justice and to show what a monster he truly is. AZRIEL CLARY, R. KELLY'S GIRLFRIEND: I'm crying because you guys don't know the truth. And Faith contracted herpes after having sex with Kelly, Melendez said, and when she sued him he threatened to release compromising photos and video of her if she didnt drop the lawsuit. That made me feel like I was in a safe haven. In fact, she released her debut single, Liar, Liar, in the fall of 2021, followed by Sounds of an Angel and Inside Me in the spring of 2022. Clary told the outlet that people tuning into her upcoming EP would discover her true nature and hopefully forget the manipulated version they saw on television in 2019. Her secluded life and career, Who are Gradey Dicks parents? He began collecting girls and women like they were things, hoarding them like objects, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez said in opening statements Wednesday. VAUSE: The other story out of niel's testimony was the number of arrests at the southern border in February surged last month. No one got to see that side of me,' Clary added as she fought back tears. Azriel toldHuffPosther experience with Kelly allowed her to reset and appreciate the value of music in her life. That makes Pace a compelling choice for prosecutors first witness; but in opening statements, the defense told jurors that such consistent patterns are in fact signs that the witnesses are unreliable making it up because they know the accusations get good play in the media. But prosecutors in Kelly's ongoing trial argued that NDAs should not keep victims from speaking out and referred to four other federal cases, including a ruling against Bill Cosby in 2016 when he sued one of his victims Andrea Constand for speaking with prosecutors. Clarys healing journey has involved music, therapy, and vulnerability. She explained: Nobody knows who Azriel is. She toldHollywood Unlockedthat by opening up, she hoped other women in her situation would find strength in her vulnerability. Azriel has moved on from the man whom she met at only 16-years-old and is regaining her independence, freedom, and starting her life on her terms. Clary also found healing in being vulnerable to the public. The morning show then flashed back to a clip of an angered 21-year-old Clary in March of 2019 when she first appeared on the show. "And if he didn't like our answers, he would tell us exactly what to say and how to say it," Clary told King. User @ECMcLaughlin credited the damning documentary for the conviction. Tasneem Nashrulla is a breaking news editor and reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York. In her 2019 interview with Gayle King, Azriel criticized her parents. Azriel Clary is the disgraced singer's ex-girlfriend, and she allegedly lived with him from 17 to her early 20s. It was about going back to the basics, remembering who I was [and] relearning myself. Others include Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001. You guys believe it's a (EXPLETIVE DELETED . Kelly held Vlary in his Chicago home for many years as she was forced to . Azriel Clary, the 22-year-old ex-girlfriend has shocking new claims about the mental and physical abuse she suffered at the hands of the disgraced R&B singer, R.Kelly. The witnesses said Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. She eventually did get pregnant in 2017, and Kelly forced her to get an abortion. During her testimony, she went into detail about how the singer had treated her and the ways in which he tried to control her. How many [years] of hell did his victims endure until this? journalist Julie Bindel tweeted. He would record them having sex and watch the tape with her afterward, to critique her performance, she said. At a certain point he took her phone away letting her retrieve the memory card only after she said it had pictures of her dead niece on it. Clary said, despite everything, her family gave her the support she needed to build herself back up: They were so supportive. The jury began deliberating federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges against the superstar on Friday in Brooklyn, after prosecutors and defense attorneys finished their closing arguments. When prosecutors asked her if she remembered her last day in the Olympia Fields home, her voice grew quiet. She cried multiple times on stand while testifying that Kelly imposed strict rules, including making her call him Daddy and controlling what she wore and ate and where she was allowed to travel. Azriel said onHollywood Unlockedthat she doesnt blame her parents for the decision: I kind of feel like you can never blame a parent [or an] adult who left their child with an adult, so lets start there it doesnt fall on anyone except for that adult that the child was left with.. I believe he even, like, got food and wanted to celebrate. 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