R. Kelly Coming To Raleigh This Weekend; Protesters Urge Boycott

RALEIGH, NC — The embattled R&B singer R. Kelly is coming to Raleigh on Saturday for a "Pre-Mother's Day Bash" at Level Nightclub on the city's east side. But if the singer, who faces numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, goes through with the event, is facing a call for a boycott by a group of protesters.

Kelly's event Saturday comes after his last concert at the University of Illinois at Chicago was cancelled earlier this month when news broke that he was facing new sexual abuse accusations. The singer's management team called that cancelation "unjustified" and vowed he would play at his next concert in Greensboro on Friday.

But the group #MuteRKelly has vowed to protest at the Greensboro event and is calling for an outright boycott of the Raleigh event. A flyer obtained by Patch confirmed the plans for Raleigh.

"This Mother's Day, don't honor the Black women in your life by financially supporting a documented sexual, physical and emotional abuser of young Black women and underaged girls," the flyer says. "Instead, boycott the upcoming R. Kelly show and support SONG's Black Mama Bailout, an initiative aimed at bailing out as many black women from jail as they can."

The group calls for a "worldwide ban" on R. Kelly due to his "25 year documented history of sexual physical and emotional abuse allegations against young Black women and underaged girls."

New sexual misconduct allegations against Kelly came out in a Buzzfeed article earlier this month. One woman accused the singer of engaging in "a mentally and physically abusive relationship" with her during a four-year period in the late 1990s. A second woman accused Kelly of recruiting and brainwashing her for a "cult" that he allegedly led.

Kelly has been accused of sexual wrongdoing with women and underage girls dating to 1994, when he allegedly married the late singer Aaliyah in secret. She was just 15 at the time. Marriage documents claimed she was 18. The marriage was annulled the following year.

A decade ago, Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges that involved a video allegedly showing him having sex with a 14-year-old girl. The teen refused to testify in the case. Kelly also has faced numerous lawsuits connected with sexual misconduct allegations, and he has made financial settlements in those cases.

Last year, a Buzzfeed article accused Kelly of being a "puppet master" and holding at least six women against their will in an abusive and controlling cult-like setting.

Kelly has denied the allegations.

Spotify announced on Thursday it will no longer promote Kelly and removed his songs from all official playlists and recommendation functions.

“We don’t censor content because of an artist’s or creator’s behavior, but we want our editorial decisions — what we choose to program — to reflect our values,” the company said in a statement. “When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful, it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator.”

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