Mute R. Kelly: The Women of Color of Time’s Up Say It’s Time

After Bill Cosby’s conviction last week of three counts of sexual assault, the women of color in the Time’s Up organization have set their sights on R. Kelly, another alleged serial abuser who has thus far evaded punishment, as well as public scrutiny, for accusations that he has sexually abused women for decades. In a statement released Monday signed “WOC | Time’s Up,” several prominent industry figures, including activist Tarana Burke, Ava DuVernay, and Shonda Rhimes, demanded further investigation into Kelly’s behavior, which has included allegations of sexual coercion, as well as physical and mental abuse. “We demand appropriate investigations and inquiries into the allegations of R. Kelly’s abuse made by women and their families for more than two decades now. And we declare with great vigilance and a united voice to anyone who wants to silence us—their time is up,” they said.

Using the hashtag #MuteRKelly, they also took to Twitter to ask that RCA Records (Kelly’s label), Spotify, Apple Music, venues, and Ticketmaster cancel his concerts and refuse to host his music. Their renewed attention to Kelly’s case (and the lack of intervention on the part of law enforcement) emphasized the particular challenges women of color face after coming forward to report assault and abuse—even during the #MeToo movement.

R. Kelly has not attempted to conceal his preference for young women: He married 15-year-old Aaliyah in 1994 (the marriage was eventually annulled); he was accused and acquitted of making child pornography. As detailed in the Time’s Up statement, he has also been “sued by at least 4 women for sexual misconduct, statutory rape, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, and furnishing illegal drugs to a minor” and “has faced allegations of sexual abuse and imprisonment of women under threats of violence and familial harm.” As recently as last October, in an interview with Rolling Stone, several months after BuzzFeed released a series of bombshell reports about Kelly’s manipulative treatment of girlfriends in his homes outside Chicago, many of whom were supposedly underage, a woman named Kitti Jones, a former Dallas radio DJ and girlfriend of Kelly’s, alleged that over the next few years he engaged in a pattern of abuse and assault.

“We see you. We hear you. Because we are you,” the statement from the WOC of Time’s Up began, highlighting that “for too long, our community has ignored our pain. The pain we bear is a burden that too many women of color have had to bear for centuries.” They also requested specifically that the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, which is hosting a Kelly concert on May 11, cancel the event. Kelly tweeted about the concert on Sunday, April 29, and has so far not acknowledged the #MuteRKelly campaign.

John Legend and Questlove subsequently supported the Time’s Up statement on their own Twitter accounts (and Vince Staples recently called Kelly a “child molester” in an interview at Coachella); but Ava DuVernay called out the silence from other male music industry heavyweights who had yet to promote #MuteRKelly.

For many, Bill Cosby’s conviction was a watershed moment even stronger than the ousters of several men who have been accused of abuse and assault in the last several months, including Harvey Weinstein’s—it is the only occasion among them so far where criminal proceedings have been brought successfully against a perpetrator, and only after the first, pre-#MeToo trial against the comedian ended in a deadlocked jury. The women of color of Time’s Up are pushing for a similar change in fate for the accusers of R. Kelly, whose stories have been met with skepticism, or settlement, at best. “The recent court decision against Bill Cosby is one step towards addressing these ills, but it is just a start,” they said. “We call on people everywhere to join with us to insist on a world in which women of all kinds can pursue their dreams free from sexual assault, abuse, and predatory behavior.”