Benzino Addresses Coi Leray Disowning Him After Defending R. Kelly
Benzino has challenged his daughter, Coi Leray, publicly “disowning” him for defending R. Kelly. He brought up the “Blick Blick” rapper’s recent revelation that she lost her virginity at age 14.
During an appearance on the Famous & Wealthy podcast, the 58-year-old addressed his strained relationship with Leray, who further distanced herself from him after he said Kelly, a convicted child pornographer, deserves a second chance at freedom.
“She made a comment about the R. Kelly situation and said that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me,” Benzino said of his daughter. “Because of the R. Kelly thing. And I’m saying — but then, right? Four months ago, she’s on the Math Hoffa show. And Math Hoffa — which I thought, you know, was a kind of crazy question.”
The former magazine owner continued, adding, “But hey… Like she said, she’s grown, you know what I’m saying? She’s of age, I don’t think they’re grown sometimes. But anyways, alright, alright. But he asked her, ‘Hey, when did you lose your virginity?’ She said at 14.”
According to Benzino, he was unaware of Leray’s sexual history, however, he alludes to the “No More Parties” rapper lacking the maturity to understand his commentary surrounding Kelly’s incarceration and guilt. “Now first, right, I didn’t know, you know what I’m saying?” Benzino continued. “Right, so I’m like… So here you are condemning me for saying what I’m saying, which is a grown folks’ conversation.”
Benzino then seemingly accused Leray of being hypocritical, pointing out that many of Kelly’s alleged victims were teenagers. “How can you say that when you just said that you lost your virginity at 14? So is the guy that you lost your virginity at 14 [to], is he a pedophile?”
In May, Benzino stated that he believed that R. Kelly should have a chance at redemption in spite of his crimes, as several other legendary figures throughout history are said to have engaged in sexual activity with underage girls.
“Everyone deserves a second chance. I know that [Elvis Presley], a lot of motherf**kers was f**king with young girls,” the “Rock The Party” rapper said while on the We In Miami podcast. Benzino went on to clarify his comments, insisting he was not excusing Kelly’s actions, but that he felt his prison sentence is egregious given the circumstances.
“I’m not into that. Again. The legal age is 16. So does that make it right if a ni**a does it,” he asked. “It’s legal in America. So why is R. Kelly doing all this time? Because you know why? They’re 13, 14, two years younger.” Once again, he reiterated: “I’m not condoning ni**as f**king little girls. It’s sick. But I don’t think R Kelly should rot in jail for 30 years either.”
Shortly after her father’s interview surfaced, Coi Leray shared her reaction to Benzino’s defense of the disgraced R&B star, announcing that she no longer wants any association with him due to his comments.
See a clip from Benzino’s Famous & Wealthy podcast interview below.
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