Twitter Blows Up Over Sneak Peek of Gayle King's Explosive Interview with a Very Emotional R. Kelly

Television By TooFab Staff |
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The social media platform praised the "CBS This Morning" anchor for her poise throughout the interview; especially in a moment where Kelly was on his feet and shouting.

If early reactions are any indication, Gayle King is going to blow up the internet Wednesday morning when "CBS This Morning" airs the first half of her two-part interview with R. Kelly.

The network released just a few clips Tuesday evening from her sit-down chat with the R&B singer charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Illinois, and things got very emotional very quickly for Kelly. At one point, he broke down in tears, talking directly into the camera and saying he was "fighting for my f-----g life."

The singer denied the latest allegations brought against him but fell short of denying that he had ever slept with underage girls. Instead, he said that he had beaten the earlier charges brought against him and thus his past with underage girls is no longer relevant.

When asked why, Kelly responded, "I beat my case. You can't double-jeopardy me like that. You can't. It's not fair. It's not fair to nobody. When you beat your case you beat your case."

But it was a response captured a little later in the interview and a still shot from a moment yet to be seen that most captured the internet's attention. When asked point-blank if he'd ever held anyone against their will, Kelly went off on a tirade saying it would be "stupid" for him to do that. It escalated into indignant anger before collapsing into tears: "I didn't do this stuff! This is not me! I'm fighting for my f-----g life!"

King shared a series of images from the interview to her Instagram page, including one of Kelly standing in front of her, shouting and gesturing with one arm. What stood out for many was the total calm on King's face in this moment, which certainly appears to be wild and emotional.

As a marketing strategy, it was a brilliant moment to capture as it ensures viewers will park their butts in front of their televisions at 7 a.m. ET Wednesday morning to watch whatever went down to cause R. Kelly to go off like that. In what we've already seen, he's lashed out at the media and the public and broke down into tears. And those are just the teasers.

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R. Kelly came under increased scrutiny again after Lifetime's recent "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries which detailed allegations of underage sexual abuse from throughout his career as told by dozens of women and the families of several women allegedly living with Kelly now.

Newer allegations spinning out of that docuseries, and new evidence brought to light led to a raid on Kelly's Chicago recording studio and the new charges filed against him. Kelly turned himself on on Feb. 22 and was released on $100,000 bond.

Check out another short clip from the interview where Kelly responds to his career fallout in the wake of the docuseries and these latest charges, followed by the early online reaction to what's sure to be one of the biggest stories of the day on Wednesday.

One person did note that it appears as if someone might have Photoshopped that image of Kelly standing before King as there is clearly a hand holding his elbow and a foot visible behind his feet. But it also looks as if that third person is simply smaller than Kelly and otherwise obscured by his body.

Regardless, it does nothing to lessen the visual impact of the picture. And either way, the truth will reveal itself Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. ET on CBS.

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