The clock struck midnight last Friday for R&B superstar R. Kelly, and thank God for that. His longtime record company, RCA, dropped him. Former collaborators denounced him. A history of sexual misdeeds rightly became far too much for them to take.
Abuse allegations have dogged Kelly for nearly 20 years. In 2008, he was acquitted in a child pornography trial involving a 14-year-old girl, despite disturbing video footage. A 2017 BuzzFeed article alleged that he oversaw a de facto cult of young women. Last year, a woman came forward to reveal that Kelly had coerced her into sex as a 16-year-old – and then had her sign, of course, a nondisclosure agreement.
The final straw was a six-part Lifetime documentary that aired this month, “Surviving R. Kelly,” introducing many women with similar stories. All were underage when they met a music icon who subjected them to extended emotional and sexual torment.
Will any of this eventually place Kelly in legal jeopardy? Too soon to say.
For now, take some small solace that he has become, or is fast becoming, a social and professional pariah. For one more rapacious and powerful man, time’s up.
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