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R. Kelly Abruptly Ends Interview After Being Questioned About Assault Accusations

The singer stormed out after calling the interview "a deposition."

R. Kelly walked out of an interview on Monday, Dec. 21, after being questioned about sexual assault allegations pertaining to minors.

While promoting his latest project, The Buffet, on "Huff Post Live," Kelly was asked about low album sales and how his past has impacted public perception. He was asked about fans who are conflicted regarding all of this. This tweet was read on air.

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R. Kelly Tweet

"Huff Post Live's" Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani asked the singer how he responds to fans who feel this way. "I say, ‘F--k that,’" Kelly replied. "I have a lot of fans around the world that love R. Kelly...You can't satisfy everybody."

Modarressy-Tehrani pointed out that some fans "find it very difficult to not think about the multiple lawsuits, the multiple allegations of you having inappropriate relations, sex relations, with minors." She asked what he'd say to those fans.

"I would say, again, ‘F--k that,’" he replied. "I’m a man that believes what I see and everywhere I go…and everywhere I’ve been…I get nothing but love."

The interview continued, but Kelly became uncomfortable. "I did not come here to get interrogated," he said when asked how his relationship with sex affects his music. "I didn’t come here for a deposition. Do you know what a deposition is? You should agree with me that this sounds like a deposition.

"This is a deposition," he added. "This is not about R. Kelly. This is not about music. This is not about someone who works hard on his music who has an album out. This is about trying to interrogate me and about disrespect."

Kelly eventually walked off after calling Modarressy-Tehrani "beautiful."

The famed R&B singer has been accused of committing inappropriate sexual acts for more than two decades. In 1994, when he was 28, he reportedly married Aaliyah -- who was 15 at the time -- with a falsified marriage certificate listing her age as 18.

In the years since, many women have come forward with lawsuits and accusations against Kelly. In 1996, for example, a young woman named Tiffany Hawkins filed a lawsuit saying that the two began a sexual relationship in 1991 when she was 15. Others, like Patrice Jones, would also come forward. In her lawsuit, Jones said Kelly coerced her to get an abortion.

By 2002, Kelly was arrested on 21 counts of child pornography. It wouldn't be the last time he'd be arrested on similar charges. Prosecutors have also investigated recordings believed to be of Kelly engaging in sex acts with underaged girls.

In 2013, The Village Voice published accusations against R. Kelly, including affidavits and other court documents, reopening the conversation around the singer's past. In the piece, Jim DeRogatis, a reporter who's covered Kelly extensively, discussed his findings.

"We do have a justice system and he was acquitted," DeRogatis said. "OK, fine. And these other women took the civil lawsuit route. He was tried on very narrow grounds. He was tried on a 29-minute, 36-second videotape. He was tried on trading child pornography. He was not tried for rape. He was acquitted of making child pornography.

"He's never been tried in court for rape, but look at the statistics," he added. "The numbers of rapes that happened, the numbers of rapes that were reported, the numbers of rapes that make it to court and then the conviction rate. I mean, it comes down to something minuscule. He's never had his day in court as a rapist."

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