R. Kelly opened up about his finances on Thursday morning, revealing that he went to the bank by himself for the first time three weeks ago before he was arrested and could not make bail on child rape charges.
Kelly, 52, was put in handcuffs on February 23rd. His bail was set at $1million which he had to pay ten percent of, $100,000. He couldn’t and spent two days in jail before a female daycare owner bailed him out.
The singer is back behind bars again now after failing to pay $160,000 in backdated child support.
In the second part of an interview with Gayle King on CBS that was filmed earlier this week and aired on Thursday, after is second arrest, the singer said that he had $350,000 in his Bank of America account when he checked but that it was being moved into a new one when he was arrested.
He lamented not having the money that he is thought to have, saying it is ‘one rumor he wishes was true’.
Kelly’s net worth in the past has been estimated to be around $200million.
During his first visit to the bank on February 21, the day before he was indicted, he said he learned that he only had $350,000 left.
‘So many people have been stealin’ my money.
‘People was connected to my account. I went into – I went by myself for the first time to a Bank of America. Didn’t know what I was doing. Didn’t know what the hell was going on,’ he said.
King, who has been praised for her calm and focused interview with the embattled star, told him it was his responsibility to keep track of his finances.
Kelly went on to explain that he told the bank teller to set up a new account for him that only he would have access to.
‘I had $350,000 in the bank. I told her, take that and start a new account. That’s the way it is. She says, it’s going to take six to seven business days to clear.
‘Does that make sense?’ he said.
Kelly said that the money still hadn’t cleared when he was arrested and that is why he could not pay his bail straight away.
He remains behind bars in Chicago, however, for not paying $160,000 in backdated child support – less than half of what he claims to have in the Bank of America account.
Kelly wept again when asked about why he had not paid his ex-wife, Andrea, the money for years and said that he ‘loved’ her and their children.
He maintains that they have a strong relationship – despite the fact that his oldest daughter revealed in January that they had not spoken in years.
