After R. Kelly’s conviction for sex trafficking last month, YouTube have removed two channels by the singer.
The reason why the website has taken down RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, according to a spokesperson, is to stay “in accordance with [YouTube’s] creator responsibility guidelines.” However, even though he won’t be able to create any more channels, his music will still be available to stream on YouTube Music.
“Egregious actions committed by R. Kelly warrant penalties beyond standard enforcement measures due to a potential to cause widespread harm,” Nicole Alston, YouTube’s head of legal, stated in a document that has been seen by Bloomberg. “Ultimately we are taking this action to protect our users similar to other platforms.”
Kelly was recently found guilty of eight violations of the Mann Act, which pertains to the transportation of a victim across state lines for criminal sexual activity, by a federal jury in Brooklyn. He is due to be sentenced next May and could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Kelly was also charged with racketeering by the same jury for his role in an operation recruiting underage girls for sex. Kelly had originally plead not guilty to the charges. The singer will be facing decades in prison during his sentencing hearing in May of 2022. Kelly has been in federal custody since July of 2019.
The trial is one of three sets to occur over Kelly’s alleged sexual misconduct and abuse. The singer still faces a trial for federal possession of child pornography and obstruction charges in Illinois, a trial that will be scheduled now that the current trial has concluded, as well as state-level sexual misconduct charges in Minnesota and Illinois.