R. Kelly Is No Longer Welcome in Philadelphia

Philadelphia City Council members Helen Gym, Blondell Reynolds Brown, and Cherelle L. Parker are spearheading a resolution to symbolically ban R. Kelly from the City of Brotherly Love, which was unanimously passed on Thursday (January 31). The motion is the city's way of showing solidarity and support to the victims who have alleged sexual assault against the R&B star.

According toThe 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 outright ban Kelly from Philadelphia, but serves “a public declaration” that “this city doesn’t welcome” him.

“The resolution is about not accepting,” Gym told the Inquirer in a recent interview. “It’s about being clear that we will not accept a future where rape is accepted, and rapists and sexual predators get away with their acts. I believe that R. Kelly and predators like him should be shamed and banished from the public sphere.”

Although the singer has not been convicted of any crimes, he's currently under investigation in Georgia and Illinois after a docuseries called Surviving R. Kelly aired, featuring the harrowing stories from a number of victims. More recently, the 52-year-old has been accused of physically abusing his girlfriend Halle Calhoun in 2017.

Photo: Getty Images


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