On January 3rd, 2019 Surviving R.Kelly premiered on Lifetime. For those who don’t know Surviving R.Kelly is the long awaited documentary of alleged victims, celebrities, and witnesses telling their first hand accounts and opinions of Kelly’s alleged actions. Victim accusations of Kelly’s sexual misconduct dates back to the mid 1990s.

In 1994 it is documented that Kelly then 27 years old married 15 year old singer-actress Aaliyah Houtan who lied about her age on the document. Granted Aaliyah willingly committed the wrongful act and their were faulty adults in her life that should have been more aware of the issue. Nevertheless Kelly was a grown man, approaching his thirties that made a choice to engage in an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

Many would say he took advantage of her innocence and youth. The marriage was later annulled in 1995. Shortly before Aaliyah’s untimely death she dated a big music mogul named Damon Dash. Recently Dash stated in an interview that Aaliyah referred to Kelly as a “bad man” and never wanted to further elaborate on that statement. Unfortunately we’ll never know the truth about her experiences with R.Kelly due to her passing. It is also notable that Kelly produced Aaliyah’s debut album that was titled: “Age Ain’t Nothin’ but a Number.”

In 2001 R.Kelly is sued by his intern, Tracy Sampson who accused him of engaging in an “indecent sexual relationship” with her while she was still a minor. She also claimed he attempted to control her life. The case was settled for some unknown sum.

In 2002 Kelly is charged with child pornography. It wasn’t until 6 years later that his case faced trial. In the years he continued to receive accolades and release award winning music. Later Kelly was deemed not guilty because according to the courts there was no proof indicating the female in the video was a minor. Within 2 years later he is charged with child pornography again but the charges are dropped due to lack of evidence

In an interview following these allegations when asked if he likes underage girls his response was “define underage.” What is also quite disturbing is that in the midst of these allegations R.Kelly prided himself by choosing the moniker “The Pied Piper of R&B.” For those who don’t know, The Pied Piper is a story about a man that lured children away from their families through music, for revenge. No one can say for sure but it seems as if it was Kelly’s way of identifying his misconducts.

The summer of 2017 is when allegations of R.Kelly holding a sex cult in his home appeared in headlines. It is reported that he took away all forms of communication from the young women and dictated everything they did. Kelly apparently brainwashed the women so that they would resent their families.

These shocking and disturbing details were initially brought to the public’s attention by three former employees of Kelly and parents of the victims. A victim he was supposedly holding against her will came to R.Kelly’s defense and denied the claims but suspiciously failed to reveal her location or her relationship with him.

After the documentary, A movement titled #muteRKelly was created to work to criminalize and punish Kelly for his accused wrongdoings. Shockingly, on January 4th 2019 Spotify reported that after the series premiered R.Kelly’s music streaming increased by 16 percent. I cannot even begin to fathom why this is.

Some argue that despite Kelly’s crimes, he still has contributed to “the culture” and his contributions still are worth something, therefore his art cannot be disregarded indefinitely. What is really being said is that his art is more valuable than the victims well being. Many celebrities have openly turned against Mr.Kelly, radio stations have discontinued his music, and his own daughter has spoken against her father referring to him as a “monster.” As of January 14th, RCA, Kelly’s label, stopped marketing or promoting any of his new music until the investigation is over.

We live in a society where there are pedophiles are rewarded regardless of their wrongdoings, in the music industry. Some argue that an artist is separate from their music. It is argued that they might be a bad person, though it does not mean their art is bad too. What people fail to understand is that by supporting an artist that commits a crime, their crimes are being funded. By continuing to support their art money is being put into their pockets thus giving them no reason to stop their wrongs.