The city of Philadelphia has passed a bill that symbolically bans R Kelly from ever stopping by for a visit.
The Philadelphia City Council, on Thursday, unanimously passed a resolution to “mute” R Kelly. While the bill doesn’t officially ban the singer from the city, it serves as “a public declaration” that “this city doesn’t welcome” him.
The singer was recently dropped by RCA Records after the broadcast of Lifetime’s Surviving R Kelly docuseries brought renewed attention on him and allegations of sexual misconduct.
R Kelly has always denied the claims.
Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Councilwoman Helen Gym, a co-sponsor of the resolution said:
“I believe that R Kelly and predators like him should be shamed and banished from the public sphere.”
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the resolution supports #MuteRKelly’s goal of remedying “decades of silence surrounding” Kelly’s alleged sexual abuse of “black girls as young as 13” by denying the singer “a public platform” to continue his career. The resolution does not outrightly ban Kelly from Philadelphia but serves “a public declaration” that “this city doesn’t welcome” him.
Kelly has not been convicted of any sex crimes, but he is facing a federal investigation as well as state cases in Georgia and Illinois.
