GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Time's Up campaign is taking aim at R. Kelly over allegations that he has sexually abused women. In part, The Women of Color Committee within the movement wants the Greensboro Coliseum to cancel his concert in the Triad.
The group is calling on the Greensboro Coliseum Complex to cut ties with the singer. He's scheduled to perform at the venue on May 11.
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The organization devoted to helping women in the aftermath of sexual abuse issued a statement Monday urging further investigation into Kelly's behavior. It cites among other examples of alleged abuse: his marriage, which was later annulled, to the late Aaliyah when she was just 15, and child pornography charges against him. Kelly has denied wrongdoing, and he was acquitted in 2008 of the child pornography charges.
Time's Up is also calling on action from his label RCA Records and from Apple Music and Spotify, which stream his music.
The statement came from the women of color committee within Time's Up. The committee includes Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rimes and Jurnee Smollett-Bell.
Twitter user @SuiteLadyOro wrote "#MuteRKelly ain't playing, Y'all. Our ultimate goal: @RKelly in the jailhouse or poor house. #TimesUp." That handle is owned by Oronike Odeleye, co-founder of the #MuteRKelly Campaign.
People have joined Odeleye and members of the Time's Up movement in using the hashtag to target R. Kelly. The accusations which included allegations of sexual abuse, the mistreatment of women and underage girls as well as cultism, have dogged his career over the years. None has appeared to halt his career nor convince a court to convict him of a crime.
Actress Kerry Washington tweeted: "We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on safety & dignity for all women. Singer John Legend wrote: "I stand with the women of #timesup #muterkelly."
A spokesperson for Kelly said that while Kelly supports the Time's Up movement, the campaign against him is "unjust and off-target."
"Once something gets trending in these times it's hard to kinda roll it back so I think it will be effective in stopping it," said Khabrill Barnard a radio host with 102 Jamz in Greensboro. Barnard's job keeps him versed on issues related to the entertainment industry and that includes R. Kelly's troubles.
"We had the evidence, we had videotapes and we had people coming forward. A lot of people may not have been familiar with the scenarios that took place with R. Kelly in the past but I think there is more awareness now," said Barnard.
The Greensboro Coliseum refused to comment on this campaign to mute R Kelly but spokesperson Andrew Brown said tickets were still being sold and they expect about 5000 fans. That attendance number Brown said is similar to the number of people who attended the singer's last concert at the same venue in Greensboro in 2016.
Gwendolyn Bennett of Greensboro said she is a fan of his music but has mixed feelings about the man and the campaign to silence him.
"He's a great guy, good performer but with those things may be his case should have been handled differently because a lot of people are angry because he got off with a lot of things versus Mr. Bill Cosby," said Bennett.
The Bill Cosby guilty verdict is being called a catalyst for this new campaign. It is also being credited with the cancellation of Kelly's show in Chicago. R. Kelly posted a video to his Twitter account in response to the cancellation.
"I don't know why they canceled the show. I've never heard of a show canceled because of rumors but I guess there's a first time for everything so I apologize to you guys but in the meantime, I am going to try to get to the bottom line of it," said Kelly adding that his next show is in Greensboro on May 11.
Straight from the 👑’s mouth! I love my fans. I love Chicago. Next show: Greensboro, NC May 11. pic.twitter.com/RcbalV0Idc
"I know people's hearts are in the right place, I know people have the right intentions with the movement," added Barnard about the boycott. However, he also stated that he had reservations about the call to prevent the singer from performing and drew a parallel with the O.J. Simpson case.
"A lot of people have their doubts that he wasn't guilty and that he got away with it. It is one of those things, R. Kelly, whatever he did the justice system didn't bring him through. He wasn't penalized for it."
