Women of color involved in the Time’s Up movement, which developed from the #MeToo campaign, are calling for an investigation into R. Kelly’s sexual abuse allegations. They are also asking anyone who works with him to stop and using the hashtag #MuteRKelly to accompany the new movement.
A letter pushing for the investigation by Time’s Up was published by The Root on Monday (April 30). Academy Award-winning director Ava DuVernay, John Legend and The Roots’ Questlove are among the prominent names in entertainment to show support for the #MuteRKelly movement.
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“For too long, our community has ignored our pain,” the letter reads. “The pain we bear is a burden that too many women of color have had to bear for centuries. The wounds run deep. As women of color within Time’s Up, we recognize that we have a responsibility to help right this wrong. We intend to shine a bright light on our WOC sisters in need. It is our hope that we will never feel ignored or silenced ever again.”
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Following Bill Cosby’s conviction for his sexually abusive behavior, heads have turned to Kelly, who has been facing allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct against black women and girls for years. The controversial singer was once charged with 21 counts of child pornography and has recently been accused of grooming a teenager to be his “sex pet.”
Dallas authorities are currently looking into a woman’s assault claim in which the R&B singer knowingly gave her herpes. And according to an article by The Washington Post, Kelly was also prepping the woman to be part of his “sex cult.”
Last year, reports of Kelly’s “sex cult” emerged where he was allegedly keeping women against their will. One report says he would use his money, power and promise of fame to reel in unsuspecting women to his Atlanta mansion where they weren’t allowed to leave.
RCA Records, Spotify and Apple Music have been called out for monetizing off Kelly’s work, along with Ticketmaster and Greensboro Coliseum Complex in North Carolina, where he will be performing on May 11. Time’s Up is asking that those companies to completely cut ties with Kelly. In a recent interview — completely unrelated to the controversial singer – popular MC Vince Staples took it upon himself to switch the subject to call the self-proclaimed “Pied Piper” a “child molestor.”
A statement was released to Buzzfeed in response to Time’s Up, calls the movement “off-target.”
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“R. Kelly supports the pro-women goals of the Time’s Up movement,” the statement from Kelly’s representative reads. “We understand criticizing a famous artist is a good way to draw attention to those goals — and in this case, it is unjust and off-target,” further calling it an “attempted public lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture.”
The statement continued: “R. Kelly’s music is a part of American and African-American culture that should never ― and will never ― be silenced,” the statement said. “Since America was born, black men and women have been lynched for having sex or for being accused of it.”
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More #MuteRKelly reactions can be found down below.
