YouTube has taken down two channels associated with American singer R. Kelly afte the singer was last week convicted of sex trafficking.
During the trial, R. Kelly was accused of exploiting his celebrity status to lure under-age girls into sex.
RKelly TV and RKellyVevo were removed from the video-streaming platform, meaning the RnB star will no longer be able to create or own a 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.
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The Mute RKelly campaign, founded by two Black women in 2017 to try to remove the singer’s music from the air waves, said on Twitter, “Waiting on you @youtubemusic, and you too @Spotify @AppleMusic @AmazonMusic, etc.”
According to Reuters, R. Kelly’s music will however be available YouTube Music, the company’s audio-streaming platform. Users can also watch videos uploaded by other users on other channels.
Two Black women founded the Mute RKelly campaign in 2017, pushing for the removal of the singer’s content from the airwaves.
“Waiting on you @youtubemusic, and you too @Spotify @AppleMusic @AmazonMusic, etc.” the Mute RKelly campaign said on Twitter following the announcement by YouTube.
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R. Kelly’s music has since disappeared from radio and is mostly available on streaming platforms. Among his most popular hits are “I believe I can fly” which was a favourite for many graduation events.
The singer whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly is one of the most famous people to go through trial on sex charges. Others who have undergone similar fates include the late Legendary Popstar Michael Jackson who was charged with paedophilia and comedian and actor Bill Cosby who was charged with sexual assault and sexual misconduct among other related crimes.
R. Kelly face a mandatory minimum of a 10 year jail sentence, and could face up to life imprisonment. He is due to e sentenced on May 4th.
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