Philadelphia city council members ‘mute’ R. Kelly

City council members in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have voted to “mute” embattled singer R. Kelly.
The I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker has been dominating headlines in recent weeks thanks to the release of the documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, which chronicled the longrunning allegations of physical, sexual, and mental abuse reportedly suffered by a string of women at the hands of the 52 year old.
Over the years, Kelly has also been accused of inappropriate conduct with underage girls, although he has firmly denied all the claims made against him.
The ongoing scandal sparked a social media movement to “mute” Kelly last year (18), with activists encouraging music lovers to stop listening to his work to reduce his royalty earnings, and on Thursday (31Jan19), council members in Philadelphia showed their support for his alleged victims by passing a unanimous resolution to “mute” R. Kelly.
Although the motion is just symbolic, lawmakers are using the action to make it clear he is not welcome in the City of Brotherly Love.
“This resolution is about fundamentally stating a public declaration that R. Kelly and sexual predators like him don’t belong in a public sphere, with public support,” council member Helen Gym says. “This symbolic act of solidarity puts all sexual predators on notice.”