No company should be profiting from a man who physically, mentally, and sexually abuses Black girls.
Spotify can no longer hide from R. Kelly's horrifying abuse. Demand Spotify immediately drop R. Kelly from their platform.
Dear friend,
Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly is a damning investigation into R. Kelly's decades of alleged sexual abuse of young Black women and girls, and those in the music industry that have not only enabled him, but profited from him.1
Kelly holds women and underage girls captive in his homes, isolating them from their families, physically assaulting them, and hiring den mothers who train them to please him sexually.2 Experts who study violence against women see stark similarities between R. Kelly's alleged activities and those of sex trafficking rings.3R. Kelly is able to continue to prey on vulnerable Black girls like this because companies like Spotify provide him a revenue stream to maintain his sex trafficking operation and a veneer of public credibility.
With the seriousness of these numerous allegations and their overwhelming credibility, it's past time for Spotify to take a stand and drop R. Kelly's entire music library. No company should be profiting from a man who physically, mentally, and sexually abuses Black girls.
Spotify and other music platforms need to cut R. Kelly off from the resources he needs to exploit Black girls. Singers and artists are condemning R. Kelly’s abuse like never before. Past collaborators like Chance the Rapper and the band Phoenix apologized for working with him. Lady Gaga is pulling her song featuring R. Kelly from Spotify, iTunes and Apple Music, and singer Omarion vowed to retire songs Kelly wrote for him in the past.4 Numerous other artists continue to condemn R. Kelly and those that enable him, from John Legend, Ne-Yo and Meek Mill to Jada Pinkett Smith, Ava Duvernay and Lupita Nyong'o. Momentum is growing for R. Kelly to finally face consequences for his decades of abuse.
We know Spotify can take down R. Kelly’s music. Spotify has shown they are willing to remove harmful actors’ content from the platform, from violent white supremacists’ podcasts to the bigoted conspiracy theories of Alex Jones.5 Spotify has shown they are unwilling to enable the spread of hate, and it's time they show they are unwilling to support the ongoing abuse of Black girls at the hands of R. Kelly.
Black girls’ safety and lives are worth more than a song. It is our collective obligation to show up for Black women and girls — and to demand a cost from companies like Spotify who won't.
Until justice is real,
Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Evan, Johnny, Future, Corina, Chad, Mary, Saréya, Angela, Eesha, Samantha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References :
- "Turn Off R. Kelly and Turn Up For Black Women", Pop Sugar, 10 January 2019 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113924?t=8&akid=22813%2E1942551%2Eg-myXb
- "“He’s A Predator”: Two More Women Speak Out About R. Kelly’s Alleged Sexual Abuse," Buzzfeed News, 4 May 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113925?t=10&akid=22813%2E1942551%2Eg-myXb
- "Domestic Violence Experts on R. Kelly 'Cult' Allegations : 'This Whole Scenario Is Extremely Disturbing'," Billboard, 18 July 2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113926?t=12&akid=22813%2E1942551%2Eg-myXb
- "As Calls for R. Kelly Reckoning Intensify, RCA Records Stays Silent," Rolling Stone, 8 January 2019 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113927?t=14&akid=22813%2E1942551%2Eg-myXb
- "Facebook, Apple, YouTube and Spotify ban Infowars' Alex Jones," The Guardian, 6 August 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/113928?t=16&akid=22813%2E1942551%2Eg-myXb
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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