--- title: Here's What R. Kelly Says Happened to His Millions description: In a CBS interview with Gayle King, R. Kelly said people have been "stealing" his money. The singer failed to pay $161,000 in child support. canonical: https://time.com/5546861/what-happened-to-r-kelly-money/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-07T14:13:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:57:55.395Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Here's What R. Kelly Says Happened to His Millions og:description: 'People have been stealing my money' og:url: https://time.com/5546861/what-happened-to-r-kelly-money/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3e616e1a7ce046/6989465c22fb850d74e27e6e/r-kelly.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: R. Kelly Appears In Family Court Over Unpaid Child Support og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What R. Kelly Says Happened to His Millions twitter:description: 'People have been stealing my money' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e3e616e1a7ce046/6989465c22fb850d74e27e6e/r-kelly.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What R. Kelly Says Happened to His Millions  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 7, 2019 2:13 PM CUT  Singer R. Kelly arrives at the Daley Center for his hearing in Chicago, Ill. on March 6, 2019. Singer R. Kelly arrives at the Daley Center for his hearing in Chicago, Ill. on March 6, 2019.Nuccio DiNuzzo—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 7, 2019 2:13 PM CUT In a newly released portion of R. Kelly’s explosive [_CBS This Morning_ interview](http://time.com/5545650/r-kelly-gayle-king-cbs/ "undefined"), the disgraced R&B singer claimed that people have been “stealing” his money, leaving him unable to pay child support to his ex-wife. The clip aired less than a day after Kelly told a judge he could not pay $161,000 in owed child support for his three children, [sending him back to jail](http://time.com/5546528/r-kelly-child-support-hearing/ "undefined"). When asked by CBS’ [Gayle King](http://time.com/5545745/gayle-king-r-kelly-cbs-interview/ "undefined") about his financial situation, and reports that his income was estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, Kelly quipped that it was “one rumor I wish was true.” “Here’s the deal. So many people have been stealing my money. People was connected to my account,” Kelly, 52, told King, before adding that he went by himself to the bank to sort out issues only about a month ago. “I didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t know what the hell was going on. I was so tired of not knowing where my money was. A lot of it’s on me.” When he went to the bank, he said he was told he had $300,000 left in his account. He said the money was being transferred to a new account when he was arrested — which is why he couldn’t post bail after being [indicted on 10 counts of sexual abuse](http://time.com/5535725/r-kelly-charged-sexual-abuse/ "undefined") in February. At that time, a woman was seen [posting his $100,000 in bail](http://time.com/5537836/r-kelly-bail-sex-abuse/ "undefined"), prompting speculation that Kelly could not afford to pay it himself. The woman [reportedly met Kelly on a cruise](https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/r-kelly-charged-bond-lifetime/ "undefined") five months prior. > [](https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1103630329573793795) During the CBS interview, Kelly also grew emotional and blamed his ex-wife, Andrea Kelly, for some of his money troubles. “How can I pay child support? How?” Kelly shouted. “If my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can’t work? How can I work? How can I get paid? How can I take care of my kids? How?” Kelly also said he has “zero” relationship with his children. In [_Surviving R. Kelly_](http://time.com/5491926/surviving-r-kelly-review/ "undefined"), a documentary about Kelly’s alleged abuse that aired on Lifetime in January, Andrea Kelly reiterated [past accusations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time%5Fcontinue=7&v=xFpcvwPrbR8 "undefined") that R. Kelly had physically abused her during their 13-year marriage. R. Kelly has denied all accusations of abuse. > [](https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1103633093229981697) When King mentioned the idea that Kelly’s financial struggles stem from having to pay multiple legal settlements, Kelly called it a “lie.” In excerpts of the CBS interview first released Wednesday, Kelly also became aggressive while denying allegations of sexual misconduct, saying he has been “assassinated” and “buried alive.” Kelly said he has never had sex with anyone younger than 17, and has never kept anyone in his home against their will, as he has been accused of doing. The allegations against Kelly, some of which go back years, resurfaced and gained widespread public attention after a documentary about his alleged abuse, [_Surviving R. Kelly_](http://time.com/5491926/surviving-r-kelly-review/ "undefined"), aired on Lifetime in January. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5546861/what-happened-to-r-kelly-money/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5546861/what-happened-to-r-kelly-money/"},"headline":"Here's What R. 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