R Kelly was was found guilty in September of exploiting his superstar status to run a scheme to sexually abuse women and children over two decades.
(Picture: AP)YouTube said it has removed R Kelly’s channels from its video platform after his sex trafficking conviction.
The R&B singer was found guilty in September of exploiting his superstar status to run a scheme to sexually abuse women and children over two decades.
Two of his channels, RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, have now been removed from YouTube, the company has said.
The catalogue 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.
“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 MuteRKelly campaign, founded by two Black women in 2017, has been campaigning for music giants such as Spotify, AppleMusic, and AmazonMusic to remove the singer’s music from the air waves,
Spotify, Apple and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether they would be taking action.
Kelly’s music has largely disappeared from radio but is still available on streaming platforms. His hit record “I Believe I Can Fly” was for years a popular choice at graduation ceremonies.
Kelly faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years behind bars, and could face up to life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for May 4, 2022.
The singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is one of the most prominent people tried on sex charges since the #MeToo movement began.
Eleven accusers - nine women and two men - took the stand over the searing six-week trial to describe sexual humiliation and violence at his hands.
After two days of deliberation, the jury found the US star guilty on all nine charges he was facing.
