R Kelly girls defend superstar

Two women living with R Kelly, pictured, are defending the R&B superstar charged with sexual abuse, saying in an interview their relationships with him are consensual.

Azriel Clary, 21, and Joycelyn Savage, 23, told the US television network CBS that they “absolutely” are in love with Kelly, brushing off allegations that the 52-year-old artist brainwashes women he keeps in homes that operate as de facto sex cults.

“We live with him, and we’re in a relationship with him,” Clary said of Kelly, who returned to jail on Wednesday for failing to pay child support.

“A very strong relationship as well,” added Savage.

Questioned on the nature of their sex lives with Kelly, Clary said “I would never share with no one what I do in or outside the bedroom. There are people all over the world who have multiple girlfriends,” she said. “It’s no different.”

Last month, Kelly – dogged for decades by allegations including child pornography, sexual abuse and false imprisonment – pleaded not guilty in Chicago to 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse against four victims, three of them minors.

Detroit police disclosed on Thursday they were also investigating an allegation of a 2001 sexual assault involving a 13-year-old.

The criminal cases are not linked to women Kelly currently lives with.

In 2017, a BuzzFeed report alleged the musician had kept women as virtual sex slaves at his Chicago and Atlanta homes.

Clary dubbed accusations against Kelly money-making schemes. But Clary’s parents said their daughter “is suffering from years of mental abuse”. –