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Parents Of R. Kelly’s Girlfriend Open Up About Their Daughter In New Interview

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The parents of one of R. Kelly’s live-in girlfriends have decided to speak out about how their daughter actually got involved with the music artist.

Alice and Angelo Clary sat down with CBS’s Gayle King in an interview that aired Wednesday. The parents of Azriel Clary allege that their daughter first became involved with Kelly when he promised to help Azriel jump start her singing career. They claim that days later Azriel met Kelly at a hotel without them knowing.

According to her parents, Azriel told them it was for an audition. Angelo recalled Azriel saying at the time, “‘Why wouldn’t you trust me? Y’all would think I would put myself into a predicament and not call you all if something wasn’t right?'”

Alice and Angelo told King that they eventually created a business relationship with Kelly and Kelly invited Azriel to go on tour with him in 2017. Her parents claim they couldn’t say “no” to Azriel because she threatened to commit suicide if they didn’t let her go.

“I don’t want to call her bluff on it because I know she just attempted this previously. But … I’m thinking in my head, ‘She’s only got three more months, she’s gonna be 18, so she can do what she want,” Alice told King.

The Clary’s have faced criticism over their choice to let their 17-year-old daughter tour with Kelly despite the rumors of sexual abuse.

“That gave me pause. I mean, it gave me awareness. But you’re talking about a young lady that was raised by two parents … I didn’t trust him,” Angelo told King. “What I trusted was I raised my child right.” (RELATED: Man Claims To Have Third Tape Of R. Kelly Sexually Abusing Young Girls)

Angelo defend their choice, saying that “this was strictly her music. R. Kelly had a platform as big as music can ever give somebody. I didn’t see the label stop supporting him.”