The music industry is starting to take action against R. Kelly in the aftermath of the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly and his ongoing criminal investigation. A handful of musicians have ben pulling their collaborations with the R&B crooner from streaming platforms, and the number is only expected to keep growing as the pile of allegations continue to thicken.
As of right now, here is the list of artists who have removed their collaborations.
Chance the Rapper
Chance is the most recent artist to pull his 2015 single “Somewhere in Paradise” from all streaming services. The bold move comes only weeks after Chano admitted that he made a mistake in ever collaborating with Kelly. His comments were briefly featured in the Lifetime docuseries. He also followed his statement up with a message on Twitter that further explained why he previously overlooked the years of abuse allegations.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) January 6, 2019
Lady Gaga
As promised, Lady Gaga also removed her 2013 track “Do What U Want.” The announcement to do so came along with a lengthy letter, apologizing for not speaking out sooner, as well as expressing her support for the alleged victims who endured years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of the Chicago artist.
“As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life,” Lady Gaga said in a statement. “I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner.”
I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault: pic.twitter.com/67sz4WpV3i
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 10, 2019
Céline Dion
Following others’ lead, Céline Dion pulled her collaboration”I’m Your Angel” on Monday (Jan. 14). The song, which was originally recorded in 1998, appeared on her holiday album These Are Special Times. Taking it a step further, Dion also removed the video from YouTube. The Grammy Award-winning singer has not released a statement about R. Kelly at this time.
Ciara
While no one was looking, Ciara scrubbed her 2006 track, “Promise (Go and Get Your Tickets Mix)” from streaming platforms and iTunes. TMZ reported that Cici requested that Sony take the collab down earlier this month.
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are the final artists to drop their collab with R. Kelly. The group reportedly pulled their 2008 single “Out of This Club” this month as well.
Who’s Next?
While this is an impressive list of artists taking a stand against R. Kelly, there are plenty of collaborations still doing numbers on streaming platforms. R. Kelly still has songs with Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Usher, Mary J. Blidge, Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Jhene Aiko, Nas, Ty Dolla Sign, and more. So, who’s got next?