Late night reacts to R. Kelly’s insane interview
By Matt Moore
R. Kelly’s wild interview with Gayle King provided plenty of material for late night.
Watching late night television these days, it would seem like President Trump is the only crazy person providing shows with content. That is, until singer R. Kelly attempted to defend himself from aggravated sexual abuse charges during an interview with CBS’ Gayle King.
The interview has gone viral for R. Kelly’s outbursts and what some people considered a performance. King has received credit for staying calm and collected while pressing the singer about allegations against him.
The seemingly unhinged Kelly provided the type of celebrity-driven material that late night relishes. Of course, the crimes Kelly is accused of are not at all funny and should be taken very seriously. Separating the alleged crimes from how Kelly behaved in the interview is where late night made the distinction.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the focus was on trying to make sense of R. Kelly’s reasoning behind why he was innocent. According to the singer, only a dumb person would kidnap women against their will.
Jimmy Kimmel responded by going over Kelly’s body of work to prove that the singer may not be as smart as he thinks. It is especially relevant considering Kelly defended himself by saying he’s given the public 30 years of his life as a performer. The problem is that his 30 year career includes Trapped in the Closet.
Kimmel, like most everyone else, also took time to point out how poised Gayle King was in response to the outburst. King did not try to egg Kelly on or focus on the sensationalism of it all but instead tried to get some sort of truth from the interview.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert also covered the interview. As you might expect, Colbert couldn’t help from taking a shot at President Trump in the process. But thankfully for Colbert, the president continues to provide plenty of material compared to R. Kelly.
Colbert couldn’t help himself when it came to keeping the political connections going. His comparison of R. Kelly’s denials to those of Brett Kavanaugh remind us how much fun Colbert had at Kavanaugh’s expense. And just like Kimmel, Colbert applauds Gayle King’s professionalism.
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Overall it doesn’t look like R. Kelly helped his case very much by sitting down with CBS This Morning. He will get his day in court but it seems as though the court of public opinion has already ruled with this interview as Exhibit A. And if late night is any indication, he may have to plead insanity.