#MuteRKelly: R. Kelly issues a statement in response to Time's Up

R. Kelly’s team has issued a statement in direct response to the Women of Color within Time’s Up joining the #MuteRKelly campaign.

The statement reads:

Kelly supports the pro-women goals of the Time’s Up movement.  We understand criticizing a famous artist is a good way to draw attention to those goals—and in this case, it is unjust and off-target.

We fully support the rights of women to be empowered to make their own choices. Time’s Up has neglected to speak with any of the women who welcome R. Kelly’s support, and it has rushed to judgment without the facts.  Soon it will become clear Mr. Kelly is the target of a greedy, conscious and malicious conspiracy to demean him, his family and the women with whom he spends his time.

Kelly’s music is a part of American and African-American culture that should never—and will never—be silenced.   Since America was born, black men and women have been lynched for having sex or for being accused of it.  We will vigorously resist this attempted public lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture.

–Thanks for listening. R. Kelly management

In case you missed it, the Women of Color within Time’s Up called upon RCA Records, Spotify, Apple Music, Ticketmaster and the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina, where R. Kelly is scheduled to perform in May, to “join us and insist on safety and dignity for women of all kinds.”