The new year has been a whirlwind of events for R. Kelly‘s ex-girlfriend, Azriel Clary. The former Pied Piper associate got into a physical altercation with his other girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage, reunited with her family, and is now attempting to lead a regular life. While Clary’s readjustment to society should be joyously celebrated, the 21-year-old revealing the grim details of her relationship with R. Kelly have left some wondering why she chose not to disclose this information at an earlier time. One of those people includes none other than world-renowned journalist, Gayle King. 

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Last year, Gayle King sat down with R. Kelly’s then-girlfriends, Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage, during a passionate interview filled with tears and shouting as the duo defended the innocence of their once proclaimed-lover. Now, Clary has backtracked on her statements of R. Kelly’s integrity claiming that the singer was physically and verbally abuse throughout the duration of their relationship during an exclusive interview with The Sun. 

This past weekend, TMZ caught up with Gayle King while she was in Miami enjoying the Super Bowl festivities, and had this to say about Azriel when she was brought up in conversation:

“I think she’s very young, and we really do just want her to be ok, and I really do mean that. At the time when we did the interview, I’m not surprised that she is now saying that she wasn’t telling the truth. Now, I just want her to be ok, I really do. Whatever it takes to get that.”

With Azriel Clary now willing to cooperate with authorities in the impending R. Kelly case, this could be an opportunity for the young woman to find closure in this situation and move on, leading a happy, healthy lifestyle. 

Check out the footage of Gayle King’s interaction with TMZ in the video provided below. 

Immediately following R. Kelly‘s most recent arrest, his alleged girlfriends Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary stayed by his side. They made appearances at his court date and even defended him during the infamous, shout-filled Gayle King interview. As time has progressed, a shift has occurred now that Azriel has found her own voice and freedom. She’s previously stated that she was planning on sharing her story, and in her first tell-all interview, the young woman sat down with The Sun to discuss the abuse she says she endured at the hands of the music icon.

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“He beat me with a shoe, a size 12 foot Air Force One and he beat me all over which felt like hours and I was welped all the way from my neck down,” she said in the video. She said she met him when she was 17-years-old after someone in Kelly’s entourage slipped her the singer’s phone number. “That was the start of everything.”

“He has girlfriends in every city, he has flings in every city,” Azriel said, adding that there about three women in every state. “That lets you know how many women are probably out there and that’s not even hitting it on the nail.” She also suggested that Kelly uses a form of blackmail to keep people under his control. “He makes everyone do very degrading stuff, whether on film or writing it down, he makes them sign it. And I think a lot of women are ashamed or embarrassed to come out because of stuff like that. Because it’ll be incriminating them. There’s so much stuff. He has letters of people saying that they’ve stole from him.”

She continued, “He has letters from people saying that they’ve been molested or touched by their parents or their brothers or a family member. He even has people on film molesting their younger nieces or younger brothers. And so, I know a lot of women out there are embarrassed, and are humiliated, and are ashamed to come out because, ‘This man had that much power to control me, to molest my them younger niece or to molest my younger brother,’” she said putting herself in their shoes.

“Personally, had I ever done anything like that, I would be entirely too ashamed to come forward. Thankfully, I’ve never been in that situation. But have I seen it done to other women? Yes, I have,” Azriel stated. She alleges that she couldn’t do anything or make decisions without his approval, even if she had to go to the restroom. He reportedly made her cut off her friends because he accused her of “keeping things from him.” Later, he allegedly beat her with the shoe.

She broke down in tears as she spoke about her family who she was estranged from for years. In recent months, Azriel has reconnected with her loved ones and has been actively sharing happy family photos of her reunion with her parents.

You can watch the clip here.