R. Kelly’s sordid past continues to hunt him and his career is taking the brunt of the impact. The King of R&B was dropped from the Fashion Meets Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio after protests by locals and artists.
“[Fashion Meets Music Festival] and R. Kelly have decided to part ways,” organizers of the inaugural festival said in a statement Monday. “We appreciate the ongoing support of our Festival partners and look forward to kicking things off next month.”
The concert, slated to take place on Labor Day weekend, is now void of Kelly’s performance even though he was actually considered a headliner.
Protesters stormed the festival’s social media with comments that could not be ignored.
“Why would one attend or sponsor this event when a Google search of performer R Kelly indicates exploits of children from as far back as 2002?” one person wrote on the festival’s Facebook page.
“The inclusion of R. Kelly in this festival is a shame – by promoting him as part of your event, you are condoning his horrifying behavior. Columbus deserves better than this, and I ask you to reconsider,” another person wrote.
Kelly’s publicist released a statement apologizing to the fans and claimed the singer “looks forward to seeing them in the near future during one of his upcoming tours.”
Even though Kelly was acquitted of the child pornography charges in 2008, the history can’t be erased and it seems people still feel some kind of way about it.
