Following R Kelly's sex trafficking conviction, YouTube has taken down two of his channels.
“We can confirm that we have cancelled two channels associated with R. Kelly in compliance with our creator responsibility guidelines,” a YouTube spokeswoman told Reuters.
“Because of the potential for widespread harm, R. Kelly's acts merit consequences beyond conventional enforcement procedures. In the end, we're taking this action to safeguard our users in the same way that other platforms do,” said Nicole Alston, YouTube's head of legal, in a document obtained by Bloomberg.
In September 2021, the 54-year-old musician, whose true name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted and convicted for sexually molesting women and juveniles for more than two decades, as well as sex-trafficking charges.
The popular "I Believe I Can Fly" singer's RKellyTV and RKellyVevo channels have been taken down from YouTube.
His song library is still available on YouTube Music, an audio-streaming service, as well as user-created videos such as covers.
R.Kelly's tracks have already been withdrawn from radio stations, most likely as a result of the MuteRKelly campaign, which was started in 2017 by two Black women with the goal of getting music services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify to take Kelly's songs off the airways.
The musician was removed from Spotify's playlist in 2018 due to the company's "Hate Conduct and Hateful Conduct Policy," but was reinstated three weeks later. It did, however, include a feature that allows viewers to mute the vocalist individually.
R. Kelly, who is one of the most popular cases tied to the #MeToo movement, faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years behind bars and could face up to life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for May 4, 2022, after being found guilty of nine charges.