R. Kelly, who has been accused of sexually abusing dozens of young women for more than 25 years, was nevertheless convicted Monday on federal charges of extortion and sex trafficking. Brooklyn, New York, where Kelly faced one count of organized crime and 8 counts of violating the Mann Act, a federal sex trafficking law. May 4, 2022.
The conviction awaits Kelly, who has been the subject of a series of damning reports for more than two decades, beginning with a revolutionary story through former Chicago Sun-Times reporters Jim DeRogatis and Abdon Pallasch, which was published through the paper in December 2000. (DeRogatis continued to stubbornly report on Kelly for the Sun-Times and then BuzzFeed, among others. )
Despite the allegations, Kelly continued to tour, sold millions of records and was covered at festivals, and added the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2013, a move the music site later apologized for, writing, “It was the R. Kelly eBook to play at our festival in 2013 and we regret it.
This position as headliner at the festival led to the publication in December 2013 of an interview between Jessica Hopper and DeRogatis on Village Voice, in which DeRogatis detailed “dozens of women – one, two, dozens – with heartbreaking accusations” opposed to Kelly.
The Village Voice article had a noticeable effect on Kelly’s public perception, which manifested itself when Kelly was announced as one of the headliners of the first Fashion Meets music festival in June 2014. The Witch’s Mermaid, which was scheduled to take place at the festival, issued a condemnation of its inclusion and then withdrew from the bill. Saintseneca also withdrew, as did sponsor WCBE 90. 5 FM. Rumors also circulated that a major national law had threatened to withdraw from the occasion if ties with Kelly were not severed (later, several resources said the organization in question was Future Islands, although the Baltimore organization never commented publicly on the occasions).
Amid the backlash, FMMF founder Bret Adams first responded to Alive via email by calling Kelly’s character (“R. Kelly possibly wouldn’t be a smart person”) while advancing the concept of separating art from the artist, which remains a followed concept. through many who continue to provide millions of streams to the musician.
However, FMMF eventually relented, severing ties with Kelly in July 2014 and issuing a message that read, in part, “Fashion Meets Music Festival and star artist R. Kelly made a mutual resolution to cancel Kelly’s upcoming performance. “
“We had to think about the announcement,” Adams said in a 2019 interview with Alive. “We had to compare everything because we had a massive monetary commitment with R. Kelly, and we couldn’t just cancel the contract. “sentiment] is not an explanation of why to cancel, because you make an ethical resolution not to have it on the bill.
From the deal, FMMF reached a settlement with Kelly’s team that included a “six-figure” payment, Adams said.
Kelly continued to travel in the years following FMMF’s breakup. In fact, it wouldn’t cancel any other excursion dates until 2017, some time after “cult” allegations surfaced in DeRogatis’ feature film BuzzFeed.