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US festival ditches R Kelly following criticism
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 31 July 2014
A festival in Ohio has scrapped R Kelly as one of its headliners following criticism of the singer’s booking, due to ongoing allegations of sexual abuse.
Although the Fashion Meets Music Festival, which is due to take place at the end of August, initially defended Kelly’s appearance on its line-up, calls for it to cancel the booking continued to grow, with two bands, Saint Seneca and Damn The Witch Siren, pulling out of the event in protest and local radio station WCBE 90.5 FM withdrawing its sponsorship.
On Wednesday, with no sign of the backlash dying down, organisers of the festival said in a statement that they and Kelly had “decided to part ways”.
In a joint statement to Columbus Alive, FMMF and Kelly said: “Fashion Meets Music Festival and headlining artist R Kelly have come to the mutual decision to cancel Kelly’s upcoming performance at the inaugural Fashion Meets Music Festival”.
Kelly also released a separate statement via a spokesperson, saying: “R Kelly is sorry to disappoint his fans, but looks forward to seeing them in the near future during one of his upcoming tours”.
As previously reported, Kelly was acquitted of a number of child abuse charges in 2008, though questions over the handling of the trial and other accusations against him, particularly the number of out of court settlements he has reached with accusers, still raise doubts about his innocence in some quarters.
Interest was renewed last year, when journalist Jim DeRogatis questioned Kelly’s booking as the headliner of the Pitchfork Music Festival. DeRogatis published a detailed timeline of his investigation into accusations against Kelly, and was interviewed by The Village Voice about it.
DeRogatis said: “He was tried on very narrow grounds. He’s never had his day in court as a rapist. It’s fifteen years in the past now, but this record exists. You have to make a choice, as a listener, if music matters to you as more than mere entertainment. And you and I have spent our entire lives with that conviction. This is not just entertainment, this is our lifeblood. This matters”.
Kelly meanwhile dismissed the claims, telling US radio station V-103 when asked to comment: “When you get on top of anything, it’s very windy. It’s about holding your balance once you get up there… You have to spiritually be a climber”.
Which doesn’t really answers anything. He is now apparently working on a house album.
