Shortly after the Philadelphia City Council unanimously voted to ban R. Kelly from their city, two radio stations in Charlotte, North Carolina is following suit. WOSF-FM and WBAV-FM have decided to stop playing all of Kelly’s music — yes, even “I Believe I Can Fly.”
According to WBTV Charlotte, WOSF-FM operations manager Jeff Anderson made the call.
“I just don’t think it’s in the best interest to play R. Kelly, just based on the accusations that have come about – that haven’t been answered for and just for the controversy surrounding it,” Anderson said. “” believe especially the female community. They are up in arms. They don’t really want that support there. They expect that we would be a community leader. We are here to serve the community first and foremost, be a voice.”
Local radio personalities say they’re fine with pulling Kelly’s music and haven’t received any pushback from listeners. Chirl Girl on 105.3 FM made the decision to stop playing the disgraced R&B star’s before the announcement.
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“I am a survivor of sexual abuse as a child,” Chirl Girl said. “So it makes me feel some kind of way, and when I hear the lyrics — all his songs were creepy. All of them. If you have been a victim of that type of thing, it pulls you back into those same scary circumstances, so I am like why are we traumatizing the public. We are here to make them feel good and dance and relax.”
The radio ban follows Lifetime’s damning Surviving R. Kellydocumentary, which premiered last month.
“It sounds like everybody is on one accord,” Anderson said. “Everybody is singing the same song and they are saying this has been going on for some time.”
