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Nobody wants anything to do with R. Kelly–including his label, Sony

The former mega-selling artist’s alleged sexual predation is finally catching up to him in a big way.

Nobody wants anything to do with R. Kelly–including his label, Sony

[Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images]

BY Joe Berkowitz0 minute read

After all this time, apparently all it took was a documentary.

Journalist Jim DeRogatis had been doggedly reporting on R. Kelly’s many alleged sex crimes for years, but something about actually hearing from the victims in Surviving R. Kelly has created an inflection point. First, artists like Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, who have recorded songs with Kelly, began removing those songs from streaming platforms. Activists in the “Mute R. Kelly” movement later flew an airplane over the headquarters of Kelly’s label, Sony, with a sign begging it to drop him.

Now it seems the message was received. As of Friday afternoon, according to Billboard, Sony is no longer R. Kelly’s label.

This news wasn’t all that emerged from R. Kellyland on Friday: The disgraced artist’s former manager was also arrested for making “terroristic” threats toward the family of one of Kelly’s alleged victims.

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For anyone who hasn’t heard enough about Kelly’s sordid past at this point, NBC Dateline is airing a surprise special about him tonight.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joe Berkowitz is an opinion columnist at Fast Company. His latest book, American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey Through the Artisan Cheese World, is available from Harper Perennial. More


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