If you're not up to date on the biggest controversy in the music world lately, we'll fill you in now.
For a long time, singer/songwriter/producer R. Kelly (behind hits like “I Believe I Can Fly,” “I'm a Flirt,” and “Ignition”) has been involved in a series of scandals, ranging from pedophilia to accusations of unlawful imprisonment (including a video in which he's seen urinating on a 14-year-old girl).
Every time these issues came to light, including the occasions when R. Kelly had to face the police himself (and was acquitted), they quickly disappeared, without any harm to the artist.
In July 2017, Jocelyn Savage's family came forward to say that their daughter and other women were being held against their will, taking part in a secret sex cult run by the singer.
At the time, (controversial) singer Azealia Banks took to Twitter to question artists like Lady Gaga, who had worked with R. Kelly but hadn't spoken out about the issue.
Fast forward to 2018. The Time's Up movement hits Hollywood hard, and serious allegations against major industry figures, like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, come to light. R. Kelly is back in the spotlight.
The movement launches the #MuteRKelly campaign, encouraging a boycott of the singer.
“We demand appropriate investigations into the allegations of abuse against R. Kelly made by women of color and their families for more than two decades,” said the Time’s Up initiative in a statement posted on its social channels. “And we declare with great vigilance and one unified voice to anyone who wants to silence us: your time is up.”
The group criticized companies like RCA/Sony, Ticketmaster, Spotify, and Apple Music for producing and selling R. Kelly's music, as well as criticizing the promoters and venues that hosted his shows, and the various media outlets that still played his music.
At the time, Spotify had already announced it would remove R. Kelly's music from all its official playlists and would also stop recommending him to users.
Still in 2018, BuzzFeed News published a story featuring two women who claim to have been abused by the singer, putting the issue even more in the spotlight.
That story, in fact, was the spark that led to the production of “Surviving R. Kelly,” a 6-part documentary produced by American channel Lifetime, which covers:
- his secret marriage to singer Aaliyah when she was 15 years old;
- his trial (of which he was acquitted) on child pornography charges
- his settlements with women over allegations of sexual misconduct or domestic violence
- the coercive sex cult (including the moment when a mother rescues her daughter)
- his claim of innocence, including the 19-minute song “I Admit”
All of this featuring numerous testimonies from women who claim to have been abused (including his ex-wife and mother of his three children), people who worked with him, celebrities, and experts.
Despite the singer's numerous attempts to block the documentary's release, it aired in January 2019 and generated a lot of buzz around the issue (check out TooFab's article for reactions from several artists).
Amid so much controversy, artists like Lady Gaga and Celine Dion announced they were removing their collaborations with the singer from streaming platforms. Other artists like Ciara, Pussycat Dolls, and Chance the Rapper announced they were in the process of doing so as well.
Record label RCA/Sony paused any investment in the singer's projects, even though his contract is still in effect.
Just as when an artist dies, controversy also piques other people's curiosity. According to Billboard, after the documentary aired, R. Kelly's songs jumped from 1.9 million to 4.3 million streams in the United States alone, a 116% increase.
Views on his Wikipedia page also spiked. On January 2, the day before the premiere, there were 3,000 page views. That number doubled to 6,000 on January 3, then jumped to 41,000 on January 4. Two days after the airing, the numbers were even higher: 47,000 and 57,000 page views on January 6 and 7, respectively.
It's safe to say that, beyond the financial impact, R. Kelly is worried about the damage to his image. According to TMZ, he wants to sue Lifetime and is reportedly working with his lawyers to dig up some “dirt” on the network's executives. As absurd as it sounds, it fits with the move (said to be linked to the singer) of a Facebook page called “Surviving Lies,” which aimed to expose the documentary's accusers.
Zuckerberg's team, however, worked quickly to take the page down, claiming it violated Community Standards and reaffirming that Facebook doesn't tolerate harassment or the sharing of others' private contact information, and acts on content that violates its policies as soon as it becomes aware of it.
Despite everything, so far there's no lawsuit involving R. Kelly. But prosecutors in two cities are actively seeking potential witnesses and victims to bring charges against him.
