Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert gawk at R. Kelly's Oscar-worthy ravings to Gayle King

"Everybody out there is talking about the big TV broadcast about that sexual predator in the entertainment industry, and unfortunately I have to narrow that down," Stephen Colbert said on Wednesday's Late Show. He was talking about R. Kelly. "If you've been living under some beautiful, comforting, noise-canceling rock," he said, "R. Kelly's accused of multiple counts of physical and sexual abuse, including holding victims — some underage — against their will. And this [interview] was a chance for Kelly to reassure the world that he is normal. But instead he went with ... not that."

"Wow, he shouted and he cried, but it was completely unconvincing," Colbert said. "For Pete's sake, he forgot to say he liked beer." CBS's Gayle King sat through Kelly's ravings with preternatural calm. "She knows that when you're interviewing R. Kelly, you gotta go by the T-Rex rules," he said: "It can only see motion."

"Is there anyone cooler than Gayle King?" Jimmy Kimmel marveled on Kimmel Live. "She's just like, 'Robert?' Whatever Zen meditation class she's taking, sign me up." As for Kelly, on the other hand, "I believe this was the first time a defendant ever pleaded insanity during an interview," Kimmel said. "He said he never held anyone against their will because only a dummy would do something like that," and to judge whether Kelly is "stupid," Kimmel reviewed some of his work.

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"The interview revealed a number of disturbing things about R. Kelly, one of them being he lives in Trump Tower in Chicago, and he keeps a Christmas tree up all year round," Kimmel said. "This was quite a performance," he added, playing one part in particular he thought "could get R. nominated for an Academy Award." Watch below. Peter Weber