Gayle King has revealed more details from her explosive interview with R Kelly, where the R&B singer gave a bizarre performance where he screamed and cried about his innocence on camera.
The journalist was praised for maintaining her composure on the CBS This Morning interview as Kelly stood up and paced in front of the camera, waving his arms wildly.
Kelly pleaded not guilty after he was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Chicago on 22 February. He is due back in court on 22 March.
"I could see him getting more heated, he was upset with me about some of the questions," King said in an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
"That's OK, he was a little irritated, and that's OK. So when I see Robert [Kelly] getting really upset, and he stands out of his seat, my initial reaction was: 'Oh god, please don't leave, please don't lieave."
She said she decided to remain calm: "If we had both gotten emotional and amped up like that, what good would have come of that?" she asked.
During the interview, Colbert asked if King believed it was possible for fans to enjoy the music of singers like Kelly and Michael Jackson in light of the disturbing allegations against them.
"For me it's hard to separate it now, and I think that you have to decide for yourself what you want to do," she responded. "But these are different times and we are hearing it now with different ears. We are paying attention to it in a way that we haven't paid attention to it before."
