Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes & Others Stand Behind #MuteRKelly

This morning, an open letter was issued to African-American women from the #TimesUp movement. The Women of Color within the Time’s Up Movement are throwing their weight behind the #MuteRKelly protests, started by Tarana Burke.

TimesUpNow.com issued an open letter published in the Root.

Within the letter, they accused R. Kelly of the following:

• Married a girl under 18 years of age;
• Was sued by at least four women for sexual misconduct, statutory rape, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and furnishing illegal drugs to a minor;
• Was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography;
• Has faced allegations of sexual abuse and imprisonment of women under threats of violence and familial harm;

They also issued demands to the following companies doing business with R. Kelly:

• RCA Records: the venerable music label currently produces and distributes R. Kelly’s music;
• Ticketmaster: the popular ticketing system is currently issuing tickets for R. Kelly’s show May 11;
• Spotify and Apple Music: the popular streaming platforms currently monetizing R. Kelly’s music;
• Greensboro Coliseum Complex: the North Carolina venue is currently hosting an R. Kelly concert May 11.

Lastly, major black women in Hollywood and the Time’s Up movement are standing behind the open letter. This includes the directors and producers Ava DuVernay and Shonda Rhimes. John Legend also tweeted his support for the movement.

We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on the safety + dignity of all women. We demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color + their families for two decades. We call on those who profit from his music to cut ties. #MuteRKelly #TIMESUP #WOC pic.twitter.com/TYmDRVIH00

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 30, 2018

pic.twitter.com/8K6S2tG0jy

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) April 30, 2018

I stand with the women of #timesup#muterkelly. https://t.co/B0yaRj7zdZ

— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 30, 2018

Previously, the #MuteRKelly Protests affected Kelly’s concert schedule. He issued a statement and apology to fans in Chicago after being removed rom a concert over the weekend.

First of All, I want to apologize to all my fans in Chicago. And all around the world, where I’m performing at, they cancelled me. I don’t know why they cancelled the show. I’ve never heard of a show being cancelled due to rumors. But, there’s a first time for everything. So I apologize to you guys, and in the meantime, I’m gonna try to get to the bottom line of it, you know, as far as my lawyers are concerned, to see what happened and why I was cancelled.

Until then, I love y’all and I’ll see y’all on the next come around. I hope you guys, don’t put that on me.

Check out the statement below.

Straight from the ?’s mouth! I love my fans. I love Chicago. Next show: Greensboro, NC May 11. pic.twitter.com/RcbalV0Idc

— R. Kelly (@rkelly) April 30, 2018