Embattled R&B singer R. Kelly and his longtime label RCA have parted ways after a decades-long relationship. The news comes a week after the Lifetime channel aired its six-part docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly,” which detailed the singer’s long history of alleged sexual abuse crimes, many of them involving underage girls.
Sources close to RCA and its parent company, Sony Music, confirmed to the The Times that Kelly no longer is part of the company’s roster.
The news of Kelly’s split from Sony Music — he was scrubbed Friday morning from both RCA Records and Universal Music Publishing websites — comes after fervent calls and protests for the company to dissolve ties with the singer-songwriter.
“After years of profiting from R. Kelly, despite their knowledge of [allegations of] sexual abuse of black girls, Sony’s RCA is finally acting,” Arisha Hatch, managing director of campaigns at racial justice organization Color of Change, said in a statement on Friday. The group had earlier this week protested at the label’s New York offices. The organization launched the #DropRKelly campaign in 2017.
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