R. Kelly did a Brett Kavanaugh. I guess we have to put him on the Supreme Court now.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

Gayle King interviewed R. Kelly for CBS This Morning and things took an … interesting turn.

A few things:

  1. Yep. The best way to prove you aren’t a serial abuser of women is to scream at a woman and try to intimidate her.
  2. WHO IS HIS LAWYER AND WHY DID THEY ALLOW HIM TO GIVE THIS INTERVIEW? I mean, I’m glad they did — I hope it convinces the last six people who think he’s innocent that he absolutely is not. But still.
  3. As I hinted at in the headline, this performance reminded me so much of Brett Kavanaugh’s ranty, unhinged performance protesting his innocence during his Supreme Court hearings. I know this is a cliché, but one of the most frustrating things about being a woman is being accused of being “overly emotional” when expressing anger or frustration at some bullshit, when men are considered “passionate” when they express themselves this way. Now, I haven’t seen anyone defend Kelly for this performance … yet. But I would be curious to hear some of Kavanaugh’s defenders’ opinions of Kelly’s behavior because it is the same. damn. thing.

Now, if you can’t watch video where you are right now, when Gayle King tried to ask R. Kelly if he held anyone against their will, he began screaming how STUPID that would be for him to do anything of the sort. He then begins crying and insisting that he’s fighting for his life, stands up and begins pacing around while screaming about how he gave 30 years of his career and how people are trying to “kill” him and — irony of all ironies — he’s just trying to have a relationship with his children.

King then voice-overs that they paused the interview to give R. Kelly some time to GET HIS SHIT TOGETHER.

Kelly obviously denied all the accusations against him, including holding women against their will and having sex with underage girls. He also accused his accusers of just wanting to make money off of books and movies, etc. You know, the typical sex ogre’s defense. He also kept insisting, weirdly, that he wasn’t keeping anyone chained-up in his basement while arguing that there really are women in chains being raped every day. Note: no one is accusing R. Kelly of chaining women up in his basement. He also tried to claim that because he’s been found not guilty of raping some women, it’s double jeopardy for him to be tried for raping some different women. It is not.

But this is the moment where R. Kelly reveals that he is a complete sociopath:

Again, if you can’t watch the video, this photo sums up not just the entire interview, but this particular moment in the #MeToo movement: men protesting being held accountable for all the terrible shit they’ve done while a woman looks on, unbothered:

Gayle King’s Instagram account: @gayleking

Gayle King is receiving well-deserved accolades for remaining calm in the face of a completely unhinged man:

And I agree: Gayle King was a consummate professional and any normal person would be terrified in the presence of an accused abuser behaving this way.

But I should also point out that in the face of this sort of explosive behavior from a man they didn’t know very well, I believe most women would have reacted in a similar manner because we’ve been taught our entire lives that for our own physical safety it is our responsibility to de-escalate situations like these. I don’t know that I would have had the wherewithal to calmly talk to Kelly like he was a 6-year-old having a tantrum, but I recognize her stillness and her quiet so as to not further upset him. It’s what women have to do.

Here’s the full interview. It’s worth watching if only to see for yourself what happens when a narcissist who has escaped responsibility his entire life is finally trapped:

In Other Sex Monster News

LET THE CANCELLING BEGIN! Michael Jackson’s music is being pulled from some radio stations following Leaving Neverland. I will be paying attention to see if Capital One pulls its ad that uses “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” (As for their ad that uses “Let’s Go Crazy,” I am upset about that for other reasons.) Meanwhile, LAPD is keeping an eye on Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Finally, here are some important takeaways from Oprah’s interview with the two men at the center of Leaving Neverland.

Mario Batali just gave up his stakes in all of his restaurants which means you can eat at Eataly again without feeling guilty, thank God.

Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx knows that he wrote in that one memoir that he raped that woman, but on second thought, he’d like to take that back, please. Pajiba has some thoughts about this.

Meanwhile, here’s a timely article about men in rock music and how a reckoning for their behavior is long overdue.

Surprise! Roseanne is not making things better.

A defamation lawsuit against Bill O’Reilly and Fox News has been thrown out by a federal judge.

Here are two male Fox News personalities comparing a Congresswoman to an “adorable” child. Also, it’s amazing that they say they thought AOC would be a flash in the pan when their network is almost single-handedly making her into the star that she is by completely obsessing over her.

In Other TV News

George R. R. Martin has no idea how HBO’s Game of Thrones will end. OH GOOD. IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN WITHHOLD IT FROM HIM FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS?

Kit Harington told Stephen Colbert that the finale of Game of Thrones made him “blub [his] eyes out” and compared Joffrey to a current president.

Here are some wonderful reactions to that Game of Thrones trailer that so bedeviled this site yesterday:

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ME EAT THEON’S SAUSAGE.

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ME SLEEP IN AN ICE HOTEL UNDER THE GIANT WITHERED FACE OF A WHITE WALKER. HOLY HELL.

Heinz just straight-up ripped off Mr. Show.

My son didn’t even watch Russian Doll with me but ended up downloading “Gotta Get Up” after hearing it over and over again from the other room.

Uh-oh, The National Association of Black Journalists is coming for CNN.

Sees the headline “Least Favorite Series Finale,” sighs, scrolls through to find Lost and …

Luke Perry had no intention of being on that 90210 “reboot” show.

Luke Perry’s death has shown a bright light on strokes. Here’s how they can happen in someone as young as Perry was when he died.

Renewals

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • Good Omens will debut on Amazon Prime on May 31. And I’m not saying that the CGI is great here … it’s not, but it does look like the series captures the delightful spirit of the book.

R.I.P.

Michael Gray, Universal marketing executive, television producer and creator of the Electronic Press Kit (EPK)

WATCH THIS

The Real Housewives of New York: WE ARE BACK. Season premiere. 8 p.m., Bravo

The Real Housewives of New Jersey: WE ARE DONE. Reunion finale. 7 p.m., Bravo

Ken Burns: The National Parks: Ken Burns gives our national parks the Ken Burns treatment. 8:30 p.m., PBS

Late Night:

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Willie Geist, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Allison Janney, Samuel L. Jackson, the Jonas Brothers
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Samuel L. Jackson, Camila Mendes, X Ambassadors
  • Conan: Rachel Feinstein
  • Busy Tonight: Lauren Cohan, Toni Harris
  • Watch What Happens Live: Dorinda Medley, Amber Tamblyn

 

WEDS. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
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CBS Survivor
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CW Riverdale
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FOX Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back
(new)		 News/Local
NBC Chicago Med
(repeat)		 Chicago Fire
(repeat)		 Chicago P.D.
(repeat)

One thought on “R. Kelly did a Brett Kavanaugh. I guess we have to put him on the Supreme Court now.”

  1. “But I should also point out that in the face of this sort of explosive behavior from a man they didn’t know very well, I believe most women would have reacted in a similar manner because we’ve been taught our entire lives that for our own physical safety it is our responsibility to de-escalate situations like these. I don’t know that I would have had the wherewithal to calmly talk to Kelly like he was a 6-year-old having a tantrum, but I recognize her stillness and her quiet so as to not further upset him. It’s what women have to do.”

    Amen.

    I think it’s also where we get our mom super powered ‘eyes in the back of our heads’ and ‘innate’ female empathy – it’s called having to be exhaustingly observant our entire lives to avoid bad shit happening to us and/or trying to avoid public condemnation of whatever action we do end up taking. I’m so tired.

    Reply

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