So, he’s not a closet pedophile?

In his first interview since being acquitted of child pornography charges, R. Kelly denies that he ever preyed on young girls, telling BET news he doesn’t “like anyone illegal.”

Kelly also said his upcoming album will feature less of the sexually charged material that has defined his multiplatinum career.

“I’m really trying to make this album … a little bit different,” he said in an interview that aired Tuesday. “Take a little bit of the edge off, you know? And you know, clean up a few lyrics if I can, you know?”

Kelly, 40, was acquitted in June of multiple child pornography charges. The verdict ended a six-year saga that began when a videotape surfaced of a man looking like Kelly having sex with a girl believed to be as young as 13.

In the interview, he was asked about the perception that he is attracted to young girls. Kelly was married to the late singer Aaliyah when she was 15, but that was quickly annulled.

Asked if he liked teenage girls, he replied: “When you say teenage, how – how old are we talkin’ … 19? I have some 19-year-old friends. But I don’t like anybody illegal, if that’s what we’re talking about, underage.”

Sort of a short fuse?

Gary Coleman faces both criminal charges and a civil lawsuit for allegedly punching a man and running into him with a truck in a Utah bowling alley parking lot.

Colt Rushton says he and Coleman got into an argument after he began taking pictures of the “Diff’rent Strokes” actor with a cell phone.

Rushton’s attorney said he stopped taking pictures, but when he later saw the 4-foot-8 Coleman sitting close to the steering wheel, he thought it was funny and took another one.

Coleman, 40, is charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and disorderly conduct.

Living a little too large

Actor Thomas Jane has pleaded no contest to drunken driving after he was clocked doing 120 mph in a Maserati.

Jane, 39, whose credits include “The Mist” and “The Punisher” and is married to “Medium” TV star Patricia Arquette, was sentenced to a year’s probation, fined $1,700 and must take alcohol abuse classes.

Bequeathing the big bucks

Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California’s November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

Pitt’s political and philanthropic adviser said the actor was surprised his colleagues in the entertainment industry hadn’t done more.

Earlier in the week, Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced they had given $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.

The birthday bunch

TV host James Lipton (“Inside the Actor’s Studio”) is 82. Actor Adam West (“Batman”) is 78. Actor David McCallum (“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”) is 75. Singer Bill Medley (the Righteous Brothers) is 68. Singer-songwriter Paul Williams is 68. Singer Freda Payne is 63. Actor Jeremy Irons is 60. Actress-model Twiggy Lawson is 59. TV personality Joan Lunden is 58. Actress Carolyn McCormick is 49. Country singer Trisha Yearwood is 44. Comedian Cheri Oteri is 43. News anchor Soledad O’Brien is 42. Comedian Jimmy Fallon is 34. TV host Alison Sweeney (“The Biggest Loser”) is 32. Rapper Eamon is 25.