Last Friday, R. Kelly turned himself in after he was indicted on 10 counts of criminal sexual abuse involving four alleged victims. For years, he’s been accused of preying on minors and engaging in sexual activities with them—there are also videos where he appears to be urinating on a teenager. He’s also been accused of having a sex cult in his home.
Kelly has denied all of them and even made an almost 20-minute song titled “I Admit,” but didn’t actually admit to any of his faults. Hearing about his imprisonment and the fact that he wasn’t able to post bail because he was reportedly bankrupt made me happy because, finally, he’s getting what he deserves. However, Kelly managed to get out of jail by paying $100,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on March 22 for the arraignment.
But what’s even more infuriating is the fact that his world tour is still ongoing in some venues. TMZ reported that Concerts Stuttgart, a promoter for Kelly’s German shows, is holding off on refunds because they want to wait for the outcome of the case. This is also despite the fact that Kelly’s passport has been confiscated before he went to jail.
This move is weird considering that several concert promoters in countries like Australia and New Zealand have canceled shows in the wake of Kelly’s controversies. So for this German promoter to give Kelly a platform to grow his fame and power makes them complicit of his possible escape from justice once again. Thank goodness someone made a petition to cancel the German leg, though.
It’s also possible that Kelly will be able to cash in these remaining shows, which will help him pay his $1-million bond, in the off chance he gets his passport back. Because if the promoter won’t cancel it, he can. He did that in the past when allegations of his sex cult first came up.
The man’s music continues to be viral despite his gross actions that’s been exposed on Surviving R. Kelly. He doesn’t deserve more recognition unless it’s a news report detailing his arrest and eventual imprisonment (for life, hopefully).
Nonetheless, I feel optimistic that R. Kelly will finally be put behind bars for his wrongdoing. If Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby faced jail time for their decades-long sexual assault, then he will get his dose of justice as well. The woman who were victimized by Kelly deserves to feel secured in the fact that he’s not going to prey on others ever again.
Photo courtesy of R. Kelly’s Instagram account
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