R Kelly 'expresses sympathy' for Bill Cosby: 'Only God can say if those allegations are true'

The 49-year-old singer said he had had tried to be a father figure to his children, much as Bill Cosby had been in his popular 1980s television show

There are no plans to replace R Kelly at the event (Getty)

The singer R Kelly, a man who has himself fought off a series of allegations of sexual abuse, has entered the controversy surrounding Bill Cosby in an interview many have interpreted as being sympathetic to the actor, recently charged with sexual assault.

In an interview published in the US, the 49-year-old singer and record producer said that “only God” could tell him whether the accusations levelled at the 78-year-old actor were true.

During the interview with GQ, Kelly raised the subject of Cosby, the star of the The Cosby Show, saying that when his children were born he felt the need to be a father figure.

US comedian Bill Cosby arrives at the Court House in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania to face charges of aggravated indecent assault

“Just like having no father, that’s a generational curse. Which is why, when my kids were born, I was Bill Cosby in the house. You know, the good one. You know, let’s be clear there: how we saw Bill Cosby when we were coming up,” he said.

Kelly was then asked about the veteran actor, who was last month charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. The charge is the only legal proceeding to have resulted from a series of allegations leveled at the actor.

“Well, my opinion on that is, I don't know what happened. I'm a fan of Bill Cosby's from The Bill Cosby Show, of course—who's not?—and for me to give my opinion on something that I have no idea if it's true or not, all I can say is that it was a long time ago,” he said.

He added: “And when I look on TV and I see the 70-, 80-, 90-year-old ladies talking about what happened when they were 17, 18, or 19, there's something strange about it. That’s my opinion. Its just strange.”

Kelly, whose hits include Bump N’ Grind, Your Body’s Callin’ and I Believe I Can Fly, was then asked about whether he thought the women making the accusations against the actor were being honest.

“If God showed me that they were telling the truth, I would say that's wrong. I don’t care if it was a zillion years ago,” he said.

“But God would have to do that, because God is the only one can show me that. No man can tell me that. No woman can tell me that. And when you wait 70 years, 50 years, 40 years, to say something that simple, it's strange. You know why I say that is because it happened to me, and it wasn’t true.”

Kelly was twice arrested a decade ago over claims he was involved in sexual actibity with a underage girl. No charges were brought. In 2006 he was charged and in 2008, he was cleared of 14 counts of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl.

The magazine said that Kelly had provided financial settlements to others who had accused him of underage sex. The singer said he had been wrong to do so and was only following his laweyr’s advice.

Asked if the people had been extorting him, he said: “That's not my position, that’s the absolute truth.”

He added: “All of them. And it wasn't many. It wasn't like it was a whole ton of people. But the people that did were absolutely lying. Absolutely.”

There was immediate reaction on social media to Kelly's interview, with many expressing amazment that he had made the comments.