R. Kelly faced years of accusations coming from Black women, yet he was never convicted.
The #MuteRKelly movement has sparked outrage among many, particularly in relation to predatory behavior toward Black girls/women. Many have sounded off on social media encouraging people to #MuteRKelly:
After years of allowing R. Kelly to prey on Black girls,
@RCARecords can begin to fix its act by dropping R. Kelly. #MuteRKelly via @ultraviolet
Donna Geddes (@Bluezdragonfly)
May 11, 2018
60% of Black women and girls are sexually abused by the time they’re 18. R. Kelly is one of those abusers.
@RCARecords #MuteRKelly via @ultraviolet
Donna Geddes (@Bluezdragonfly)
May 11, 2018
Reminder: R Kelly targeted Black women and girls not women of color. Say it with me, Black women and girls. Stop saying women of color it’s honestly annoying at this point. #MuteRKelly
venkayla (@VenkaylaHaynes) May 9, 2018
#MuteRKelly was started by a Kenyette Tisha Barnes #metoo was started by Tarana Burke
Black women started this. Black women started this. Black women started this. Black women started this. Black women started this. Black women started this. Black women started this.
Alicia//Yori (@AnAmazingFeat) May 1, 2018
.
@50cent, I’m so tired of Black men not caring about Black women, yet also expecting us to have their backs unconditionally. Do better, Curtis. #whatyousaidwasjustasdumb #MuteRKelly https://t.co/hRsyyAwjfF
Kacey Bonner (@KaceyBonner)
May 11, 2018
#muteRKelly is also a defining moment for our white sisters. This is your time to stand up for Black women and girls. Will you support and amplify our call for justice #timesup
Alencia Johnson (@AlenciaJohnson)
May 1, 2018
Now it seems his camp and success may be falling apart.
The Women of Color (WOC) within the Time’s Up movement had called for companies to examine their business ties to the controversial artist in their recently announced alliance with existing online campaign #MuteRKelly. Some of the movement’s prominent nonwhite voices include Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o, Ava Durvernay and Shonda Rimes, as well as attorney Tina Tchen, chair of the Recording Academy’s new task force for inclusion and diversity.
Yesterday, Spotify announced R. Kelly’s songs will not be promoted and will be removed from all playlists. Spotify has 35 million tracks on its service and reaches 50 countries.
“we want our editorial decisions what we choose to program to reflect our values. So, in some circumstances, when an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful (for example, violence against children and sexual violence), it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator,” Spotify writes in its hateful content and hateful conduct policy.
Spotify created the policy with the help of several advocacy groups to determine its definition of hate content, including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Anti-Defamation League, Color Of Change, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), GLAAD, Muslim Advocates and the International Network Against Cyber Hate.
In the WOC’s open letter, they list R. Kelly’s infractions including marrying an underage girl, indictment for 21 counts of child pornography, lawsuits by women for sexual misconduct, statutory rape, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and furnishing illegal drugs to a minor while touring the world, selling 60 million albums and accumulating millions of plays on radio and streaming services.
They go on to directs demands to RCA, R. Kelly’s label, Spotify and Apple music (streaming), as well as Ticketmaster and Greensboro Coliseum Complex. He has a concert at the coliseum tonight promoted by Ticketmaster (protests are planned at 6 pm):
We demand appropriate investigations and inquiries into the allegations of R. Kelly’s abuse.
#MuteRKelly #TIMESUP pic.twitter.com/T1Rj6DzhYK
Lupita Nyong’o (@Lupita_Nyongo)
April 30, 2018
According to Chicago’s local media WGN, R. Kelly was pulled from the lineup for the Love Jam Concert this month on at UIC Pavillion in Chicago, before that event was ultimately cancelled. That came after Natalie Bennet, director of the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center at UIC, said she posted a letter on Facebook addressed to the chancellor. The letter says that “to host the concert at UIC is to condone the harm that [Kelly] has done to African-American women and girls, and create a hostile work environment for black women who work, study and live at UIC.”
