Two R. Kelly-related YouTube channels were removed from the platform on Tuesday, a week after the R&B singer was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering by a federal jury in a trial where prosecutors accused him of using his celebrity to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sexual exploitation.
Kelly’s two YouTube channels, RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, have been deactivated, and the singer will no longer be permitted to create or own any new YouTube channels.
YouTube spokesperson narrated that the take-down of the channels were in accordance with its creator responsibility guidelines.
Two R. Kelly-related YouTube channels were removed from the platform on Tuesday, a week after the R&B singer was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering by a federal jury in a trial where prosecutors accused him of using his celebrity to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sexual exploitation.
Kelly’s two YouTube channels, RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, have been deactivated, and the singer will no longer be permitted to create or own any new YouTube channels.
The #MuteRKelly campaign— a movement started by two black women in 2017 which has called on radio and streaming services to stop playing Kelly’s music—reacted to the decision by tweeting: “ Waiting on you @youtubemusic, and you too @Spotify @AppleMusic @AmazonMusic, etc.” Kenyette Tisha Barnes, one of the campaign’s founders, told NBC News that Youtube’s move was “the beginning of a seismic paradigm shift of R. Kelly’s legacy… It is my hope that other platforms follow suit and mute R. Kelly.”
Key Background
Last week, the R&B singer was found guilty of eight counts of violating the Mann Act, or trafficking women across state lines for sex, and one count of racketeering for criminal conduct including the sexual exploitation of children and forced labor. Kelly, who faced trial in a New York federal court, had pleaded not guilty to all charges last year and has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. Sexual abuse allegations followed the award-winning singer and music producer for decades but formal charges were filed only after multiple women spoke out against Kelly in 2018 at the height of the Me Too movement and the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” was released in 2019.
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