Gayle King is opening up about what happened after her unforgettable 2019 interview with R. Kelly. On Call Her Daddy, King told host Alex Cooper that she reached out to Kelly’s team one day after the emotional CBS sit-down, where the singer cried and denied allegations that he groomed underage girls. The conversation revealed insights into a pivotal moment in Gayle King‘s career as a journalist holding powerful figures accountable.
“When you’re in it, you don’t realize how bad it is,” King said. “I knew that it was, I knew that he was angry, but it was only when I looked at that video that I went, ‘Holy s–t.'” The interview came after Surviving R. Kelly brought renewed public attention to accusations that the R&B singer had preyed on women and girls. King’s approach to these difficult conversations reflects the kind of cultural meditation on accountability that resonates deeply in our community.
“I’m very tired of all of the lies…Oh my God. Um — all of them, got little girls trapped in the basement… helicopters over my house trying to rescue someone that doesn’t need rescuing because they’re not in my house,” he said during the interview, adding, “Handcuffing people, starving people. I have a harem, what you call it – a cult. I don’t even really know what a cult is. But I know I don’t have one.”
Kelly was later convicted in cases involving racketeering, sex trafficking, and child sex abuse, and is serving a 30-year prison sentence. His conviction marked a significant moment in the ongoing fight for justice.
King said she called to ask how Kelly was doing. Instead, she was told he wanted to thank her. “Thank me for what?” King recalled asking. His team said Kelly believed she had allowed viewers to see “his passion and his pain.”
King said she has not spoken to him since, though she would “love” to interview him again. She also said she believes he would still deny the allegations, a sobering reality about denial and accountability.
“I really didn’t think he was trying to hurt me,” King said of the tense moment. “And I wasn’t done with the interview.”
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