R. Kelly has been uninvited as the headliner for the inaugural Fashion Meets Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio after many community members complained about the R&B singer's history of sexual violence, Radio.com reports.
The inaugural event, which is the first festival to combine music and fashion, is set to take place over Labor Day weekend. Now the organizers and Kelly have released a joint statement saying that they've come to a "mutual decision to cancel Kelly's upcoming performance."
Kelly's publicist also released a statement saying, "R. Kelly is sorry to disappoint his fans but looks forward to seeing them in the near future during one of his upcoming tours."
According to Columbus Alive, members of the community began questioning the booking last week after the local folk-rock band Saintseneca announced they would be withdrawing from the festival lineup, and radio station WCBE 90.5 FM ended its sponsorship of the event. Both groups cited Kelly's sketchy legal history, including a 2008 trail where the singer was acquitted on charges of making child pornography, in their announcements.
The festival's communication director Melissa Dickson said FMMF decided to part ways with Kelly after a month of internal conversations beginning with a local electro-pop duo Damn the Witch Siren raised concerns about Kelly's appointment as a headliner and eventually dropped out of the festival themselves.
"[Starting] on June 25 there was a lot of back and forth on the criticism we did receive, but then also looking at [Kelly] as an artist," she said. "Then truly the last few weeks ... the festival has taken a lot of heat, and we really just wanted to listen to Columbus and really take a stance and move forward."
The festival says it will not replace Kelly on the bill but will continue with the current lineup that includes headliners O.A.R., Michelle Williams, and Local Natives.
What do you think of their decision to take R. Kelly off the bill? Let us know in the comments section below!
