R. Kelly denies alleged sexual abuse in interview: 'This is not me'

Image: R. Kelly
R. Kelly turns himself in to police in Chicago on Friday. Copyright Chris Sweda AP file
By Doha Madani with NBC News U.S. News
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"I didn't do this stuff. This is not me. I'm fighting for my f***ing life," Kelly said in an interview with Gayle King to air in full Wednesday morning.

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Singer R. Kelly in his first interview since he was indicted for sexual abuse vehemently denied the allegations, saying they are "not true."

Kelly, 52, told CBS News' Gayle King in a promotional video clip for the interview that will air Wednesday morning, "I didn't do this stuff." 

"This is not me. I'm fighting for my f---ing life," he said.

The singer was charged in Chicago on Feb. 22 with 10 counts of felony aggravated sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty.

An unsealed indictment released at the time he was charged listed four people who were allegedly victimized by Kelly. They were identified only by initials in the court papers. 

The alleged sex acts occurred between May 1998 and January 2010, prosecutors said. 

Three of the women were under the age of 17 when the alleged acts occurred, according to authorities. 

Kelly and his lawyers have consistently denied that he has engaged in illegal activity.

Kelly, whose real name is Robert Kelly, has faced allegations before. He was criminally accused of sexual misconduct in 2002, eventually tried on child pornography charges in the same case and cleared by a jury in 2008 on all counts.

He tells King in the interview that "people are going back to my past - that's exactly what they're doing. They're going back to the past and they're trying to add all of this stuff now to that.

"When King says "the past is relevant" to the current charges, Kelly says: "Absolutely, no it's not."

"I beat my case," he says. "When you beat something, you beat it. You cannot double jeopardy me like that, it's not fair."

King asks if Kelly has ever held anyone against their will, to which he angrily responds, "I don't need to. Why would I?"

"How stupid would it be for R.Kelly - with all I've been through in my way, way past - to hold somebody," Kelly said.

Kelly directly addresses the camera and asks viewers to use their "common sense."

"Forget the blogs, forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want, love me if you want but just use your common sense," Kelly said.

Chris Sweda
R. Kelly turns himself in to police in Chicago on Friday.Chris Sweda

Allegations of sexual misconduct against the singer gained renewed attention this year with the airing of a Lifetime docu-series "Surviving R. Kelly" in early January. The six-part show contains interviews with women who accuse Kelly of mental, physical and sexual abuse. 

Sony Music parted ways with the Grammy-winning artist in the wake of the series. 

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Kelly's interview with Gayle King will air in full on "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday.

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