SOHH Squad
Grammy-winning singer R. Kelly is going to have some spare time on his hands this summer as reports claim he has been removed for an upcoming Ohio music festival.
According to reports, R. Kells is no longer a part of the annual Fashion Meets Music Festival in Columbus.
Ohio bands Saintseneca and Damn the Witch Siren chose to leave the festival, slated for August 29 to August 31, citing past allegations leveled at R. Kelly, including sexual assault. Though the “Ignition” singer was eventually found not guilty of child pornography charges in a widely publicized 2008 trial, earlier accusations of sexual assault against Kelly were revived in an exhaustive Village Voice post last year. (MTV)
Ohio band Saintseneca also posted a message about their issue with Kelly.
“We feel his selection as a performer ignores his very serious allegations of sexual violence and assault. We feel it is an affront to all survivors, who are already often overlooked and forgotten in our society.” (Saintseneca)
The festival co-founder previously came to Kelly’s defense in light of his controversial past.
“He was not convicted of anything. He was acquitted,” FMMF cofounder Bret Adams had told Columbus Alive in June. “If we wanted to limit our artists to people who never had brushes with the law or were not good people, then you can eliminate quite a few across the board. We’re running a festival to help brand the city of Columbus. We’re not the morality police.” (MTV)
Following the announcement, the renowned singer’s camp issued a statement.
In a statement shared with HuffPost by the festival, a Kelly spokesperson said, “R. Kelly is sorry to disappoint his fans, but looks forward to seeing them in the near future during one of his upcoming tours.” (Huffington Post)
