The Time’s Up movement has pledged its support for the #MuteRKelly campaign after sexual misconduct accusations, some decades old, against the R&B star.
The decision, led by the Women of Colour (WOC) group includes director Ava Duvernay and singer Janelle Monae.
We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on the safety + dignity of all women. We demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color + their families for two decades. We call on those who profit from his music to cut ties. #MuteRKelly #TIMESUP #WOC pic.twitter.com/TYmDRVIH00
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 30, 2018
Labels, businesses and music venues promoting Kelly are to be targeted, though he denies all the allegations.
A statement urged women to dream “free from sexual assault, abuse and predatory behaviour.”
“We demand appropriate investigations and inquiries into the allegations of R. Kelly’s abuse made by women of colour and their families for over two decades now,” it reads.
It cites the guilty verdict handed to Bill Cosby in his sexual assault retrial as a catalyst.
Although sexual assault convictions are difficult to come by in general, Bill Cosby was found guilty of sexual assault just last week after decades of inaction and accusations from 60 people. R. Kelly’s alleged victims are overwhelmingly young Black women and girls, who have seen little, if any, support from the institutions meant to protect them.
The renewed focus on Kelly follows a recent BBC Three documentary, R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes, which sees filmmaker Ben Zand try to break down the alleged “wall of silence” around historic sexual abuse allegations involving Kelly.