YouTube says it has removed R&B singer R. Kelly’s channels from it’s video platform, distancing itself from the singer who was convicted of sex trafficking last month.
R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in September where prosecutors accused the singer of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex.
According to a statement released by YouTube to Reuters on Monday, Two of the singer’s channels, Rkelly TV and Rkelly vevo, have been removed from one of the world’s largest video platforms and the singer will no longer be able to create or own any other YouTube channel.
” We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to R Kelly in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines,” a YouTube spokesperson told Reuters in a statement.
The catalog of his music will however be available on YouTube Music, YouTube’s audio-streaming service and the videos uploaded by other YouTube users will continue to be available.
The MuteRkelly campaign was started by two black women in 2017 to try to remove the singer’s music from the airwaves.
On Twitter, they said, ” Waiting on U@Youtube music, and you too @spotify @Apple music @Amazon music, etc.”
According to Reuters, Spotify, Apple and Amazon when contacted did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on whether they would be taking similar action over R Kelly’s music available on their platforms.
R Kelly’s music has largely disappeared from radio but is still available on streaming platforms.
The singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is one of the most prominent people tried on sex charges during the #MeToo Mov’t, which amplified accusations that had dogged him since the early 2000s.
Kelly faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years imprisonment or could face up to life in prison at his May 4, 2022 sentencing.
