YouTube on Tuesday shut down two R Kelly channels and banned the R&B singer from ever creating new ones.
Kelly was found guilty last week of one count of racketeering – which included 14 underlying acts including sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping and bribery – and eight counts of sex trafficking. He will be sentenced in May.
“Egregious actions committed by R. Kelly warrant penalties beyond standard enforcement measures due to a potential to cause widespread harm,” wrote YouTube vice president of legal Nicole Alston, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg.
YouTube removed RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, which had a combined 5.1 million subscribers, citing a violation of a policy that prohibits “on- and/or off-platform behaviour that we may consider to be inappropriate,” including “intending to cause malicious harm to others” and “participating in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty, or participating in fraudulent/deceptive behaviour leading to real-world harm.”
The singer’s music is still available on the platform, though.
R Kelly: iHeartRadio Music News Coverage
R Kelly’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts were also recently disabled. Sony Music’s RCA Records dumped him in January 2019, although it maintains his catalog.
Kelly still faces prostitution and solicitation charges in Minnesota and numerous sex-related charges in Illinois. He has pleased not guilty to all charges.