Reunited! R. Kelly’s Ex-Girlfriend Azriel Clary Back With Family After Joycelyn Savage Fight
Jan. 10 2020, Updated 8:02 p.m. ET
Finally home!
After having spent nearly five years in a "twisted" relationship with singer R. Kelly, Azriel Clary is finally reunited with her family!
Azriel's mother, Alice Clary, confirmed the news on Thursday, January 10.
"The battle is won because she’s still here, she’s still alive, she’s still breathing and though she lost a few years of her life, she’s still here to tell her story,” Alice told PEOPLE. “Because I chose not to keep her secluded in her life, she’s here now and we’re able to say the victory is won because she finally came to her senses and she’s back home with her family.”
Alice explained that her daughter, 22, is "hurt" after "doing what she thought a girlfriend would do" and emphasized how much her age and level of maturity played into her decision to leave R. Kelly, 53.
“Everybody has something to say, she was 17 when she left. Now she’s 22, but guess what? She’s had problems for the last few years,” Alice said. “She may have done things as far as being grown physically as a young woman, but mentally no. She still has the mental capacity of a 17-year-old because he kept her stagnated for years and didn’t let her be with her family.”
Azriel's mom shared that she's learned to "give a f*** about what people think," especially those critics who claim she was to blame for her daughter's decisions. Instead, she is showing gratitude for her return and wants "to help her grow."
Through the whole experience, Alice said she’s concluded that not many people sympathize with victims, often blaming them for their troubles.
Azriel's father, Angelo Clary, took to Instagram on Wednesday, January 9, to say that social media and false storylines often overshadow the wait for the truth.
He alleged that the “Ignition” singer "f***ed" his sexual assault victims up, and added that no one can say much about an experience they didn't have.
“Y’all can say what you want, but ain’t nobody been through the experience but her. Nobody’s been through that experience but Joy,” Angelo told PEOPLE. “This is a serious situation for a lot of these young, black women that have been caught in this situation with this man who really took advantage of a bunch of young, black females.”
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He also slammed R. Kelly supporters.
Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, spoke on behalf of the police and said: "I think people can judge these parents, their history of self-promotion and their comments, on their own, considering the source. These folks are all about their own fame. They are not worth our time.”
Azriel's romance with Kelly started when she was just 17 years old. During the tenure of their relationship, she cut off contact with her loved ones, prompting them to participate in the, Surviving R.Kelly, in an attempt to lure her back home.
Following the series‘ release, and amid his multiple sexual assault allegations, she refused to give in to her parents' pleas and stood by his side, defending their relationship on social media and in an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning.
But on the singer's 53rd birthday, while he sat behind bars awaiting trial for the federal sex crime claims, she got into an altercation with Kelly's current girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage, and seemed to change her tune.
The fight, which occurred on Wednesday, January 8, while Azriel was on Instagram Live, was triggered by her accusations that Savage, 24, slept with her while she was a minor. After the quarrel, she threatened to expose some information about her experience with Kelly. She later pressed charges against Savage, who was arrested on a domestic battery charge.
According to reports, Azriel wants to cooperate with the feds, but she fears she’s suffer the consequences for previously lying to authorities and for violating an NDA she signed for Kelly.