Angelo Clary, the father of Azriel Clary, said they appreciate that Lifetime is bringing attention to Kelly's alleged crimes, but that it doesn't accurately represent the effort he and his wife made to help their daughter.
"I love Lifetime for the platform they gave us to give awareness to bring this to an end," Angelo Clary said . "But they have no clue how much we went through. They have no clue what I did to help my family."
Angelo and Alice Clary spoke about their daughter with Jay Morrison, a real estate mogul and motivational speaker, in a livestream posted to Morrison's Facebook page . Kelly, they said, promised to help Azriel with her music career when she was a teenager. When she turned 18, she stopped contacting them, they said. The Clary parents believe she's being held against her will in a "sex cult" run by the R&B singer.
The Clary parents told Morrison that "Surviving R. Kelly," which includes interviews with them, leave out key details about the lengths they went to to help their daughter, which has led to people on social media accusing them of neglect and "giving their daughter away."
The two said they spoke to police, who they claim didn't adequately investigate. They also said they hired a private investigator. After years of little progress, they're speaking publicly about their daughter in the hopes that her case would get more attention.
"['Surviving R. Kelly'] is getting the authorities which we've for years been trying to do finally on it. It's getting the victims finally on it." Alice Clary said. "We've been fighting this fight."
The parents also said "Surviving R. Kelly" didn't include details they told documentary-makers about Azriel's mental health issues. They said that Azriel lost her best friend to suicide, ran a talent show fundraiser for suicide prevention organizations, and once attempted suicide herself after breaking up with a boyfriend as a teenager.
After her suicide attempt, they said, a therapist recommended that she pursue an interest in music, which led her to meeting Kelly at a concert. Backstage at the concert, they said, R. Kelly offered to help her music career.
Alice Clary also said she personally confronted Kelly months later about previous allegations against him, which he denied.
"He actually pulled his sunglasses off, and I looked into his eyes, and he said 'No there's no truth to that," she said. "This man honestly does not think he's doing any wrong."
A representative for Lifetime didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.
