R. Kelly Finally Speaks Out About Sexual Abuse Allegations

In an emotionally-charged interview, R. Kelly spoke out about the sexual abuse charges he is facing saying, “I'm fighting for my [expletive] life!” Kelly sat down with Gayle King on "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday in a no-holds-bar interview where he fought back against his accusers by speaking out for the first time.

The R&B singer claims that the women that have accused him of sexual abuse are lying. He told King, "I'm very tired of all of the lies. I've been hearing things, and you know, and seeing things on the blogs, and you know, you know, I'm just tired.”

As King asked Kelly about what lies he is referring to, Kelly said, “Oh my God. Um -- all of them, got little girls trapped in the basement… helicopters over my house trying to rescue someone that doesn't need rescuing because they're not in my house. Handcuffing people, starving people. I have a harem, what you call it – a cult. I don't even really know what a cult is. But I know I don't have one."

Kelly maintained his innocence throughout the interview with King, telling her that he has not broken any laws when it comes to the women that have accused him of sexual abuse.

"Everybody says something bad about me,” Kelly told King. “Nobody said nothin' good. They was describing Lucifer. I'm not Lucifer. I'm a man. I make mistakes, but I'm not a devil, and by no means am I a monster."

Kelly became visually upset during the interview, pounding his chest and yelling to the camera about his innocence. As he stood with tears in his eyes, King continued to question him about the allegations against him.

Kelly fought back by saying, “Stop it. You all quit playing! Quit playing! I didn't do this stuff! This is not me! I'm fighting for my [expletive] life! Y'all killing me with this [expletive]! I gave you 30 years of my [expletive] career!"

"Thirty years of my career! And y'all trying to kill me? You killing me, man! This is not about music! I'm trying to have a relationship with my kids! And I can't do it! Y'all just don't want to believe the truth! You don't want to believe it!" Kelly added.

At this point in the interview, a break was taken to help Kelly compose himself with the help of his manager. As Kelly returned to speak with King, he told the cameras “I'm just telling the truth. I'm just telling the truth. And the reason I'm emotional – and I apologize for that."

"It's because this is the first time I was able to say something," Kelly added. "I've said nothing!"

Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which cut across at least two states.

The allegations against Kelly surfaced after a six-part docuseries "Surviving R. Kelly," was aired on the Lifetime network, detailing the sexual abuse that seven women allege happened to them.

Kelly was found not guilty on 14 counts of child pornography in 2008.