Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert gawk at R. Kelly's Oscar-worthy ravings to Gayle King

Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert recap R. Kelly&#039;s messy interview

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live)

published 7 March 2019

"Everybody out there is talking about the big TV broadcast about that sexual predator in the entertainment industry, and unfortunately I have to narrow that down," Stephen Colbert said on Wednesday's Late Show. He was talking about R. Kelly. "If you've been living under some beautiful, comforting, noise-canceling rock," he said, "R. Kelly's accused of multiple counts of physical and sexual abuse, including holding victims — some underage — against their will. And this [interview] was a chance for Kelly to reassure the world that he is normal. But instead he went with ... not that."

"Wow, he shouted and he cried, but it was completely unconvincing," Colbert said. "For Pete's sake, he forgot to say he liked beer." CBS's Gayle King sat through Kelly's ravings with preternatural calm. "She knows that when you're interviewing R. Kelly, you gotta go by the T-Rex rules," he said: "It can only see motion."

"Is there anyone cooler than Gayle King?" Jimmy Kimmel marveled on Kimmel Live. "She's just like, 'Robert?' Whatever Zen meditation class she's taking, sign me up." As for Kelly, on the other hand, "I believe this was the first time a defendant ever pleaded insanity during an interview," Kimmel said. "He said he never held anyone against their will because only a dummy would do something like that," and to judge whether Kelly is "stupid," Kimmel reviewed some of his work.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.