R. Kelly is confident that the recent sexual misconduct allegations made against him by several women will not affect his influence in the music industry.
In a leaked video, the R&B singer-songwriter scoffed at the efforts to bring him down.
R. Kelly Responds To #MuteRKelly
"It's too late," Kelly declared to a group of men. "[T]hey shoulda did this s*** 30 years ago. It's too late. The music has been injected into the world."
The Grammy-winning artist has been embroiled in a sexual misconduct controversy since last year when an article exposed his alleged "sex cult." Multiple women have come forward to accuse him of abuse, manipulation, and controlling every aspect of their lives — from the way they dress to how they should sexually pleasure him.
The women of color behind the Time's Up initiative in Hollywood, which has the backing of celebrities such as Ava DuVernay and Shonda Rimes, recently released a statement in support of #MuteRKelly, an effort to denounce the actions of the musician.
Spotify has also sided with the accusers by pulling out the music of R. Kelly, who is known for the songs "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Step In The Name Of Love," from automatically-curated playlists. Apple Music and Pandora have followed suit.
"As long as I got the ball, the world is on defense," he continued as his peers applaud and cheer him on.
Watch the video below.
So, remember that I told you about that random Antoine Walker FB Live video with R. Kelly last night? Well, here is partially slurring Kels proposing a toast declaring "it's too late" to #MuteRKelly pic.twitter.com/a45z7EDis2 — Exavier Pope (@exavierpope) May 18, 2018
The singer-songwriter has been avoiding public appearances ever since the accusations started. In April, Kelly had to cancel a show in Chicago after students and staff of the University of Illinois signed a petition to prevent him from performing at the UIC Pavilion.
His publicist, lawyer, and assistant have all reportedly resigned following the allegations.
R. Kelly's Spotify Streams Continue To Surge Despite Ban
The accused singer remains confident that his legacy in the music industry remains intact despite the sexual misconduct controversy because his fans continue to support his music. The Associated Press reports that, despite removing Kelly's music from automatically-curated playlists, his streaming numbers were unaffected.
According to the site, Kelly's popularity has been growing steadily in the past two years, and the allegations of sexual misconduct did not deter streams. In 2017, the artist averaged 5,666,000 weekly streams on Spotify as tracked by Nielsen Music. This year so far, he already crossed 6,674,000 weekly streams.
The news came a day after a 20-year-old, who had sexual relations with the world-renowned singer in the past year, filed a lawsuit accusing him of knowingly infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease.
