YouTube Takes Down R Kelly Channels After Sex Trafficking Conviction

KEY POINTS

A federal jury found R. Kelly guilty of sex trafficking last week
His music catalog is still available on YouTube Music
Spotify and Apple Music think R. Kelly’s songs should be removed from their catalogs.

YouTube has permanently banned R. Kelly channels on the platform after the "R&B" singer was found guilty of sex trafficking last week. The ban will also prevent him from creating any new YouTube channels going forward.

On Tuesday, YouTube removed RKelly TV and RKelly, citing a violation of its terms of service. The now-removed channels, which had a combined 5.1 million subscribers, currently display a message that says, “This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated,” when a video associated with R. Kelly channels is played.

In a statement, YouTube VP of legal Nicole Altson said, “Egregious actions committed by R. Kelly warrant penalties beyond standard enforcement measures due to a potential to cause widespread harm. Ultimately we are taking this action to protect our users similar to other platforms.”

YouTube’s move to take down R. Kelly’s channels comes a week after a federal jury found him guilty of racketeering and eight charges of anti-sex trafficking law. He will be sentenced on May 4, 2022, and faces 10 years of life behind bars.

The platform said it removed the channels associated with R. Kelly in compliance with its “creator responsibility guidelines,” which prohibit “on-and/or off-platform behavior 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 behavior leading to real-world harm.”

Despite permanently suspending R. Kelly’s channels, YouTube has not banned his music and will continue offering the singer’s music catalog on YouTube Music.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Morning Consult following his conviction revealed that 44% of audio-streaming service users such as Spotify and Apple Music think that the platforms should remove R. Kelly’s songs from their catalogs.

R. Kelly’s conviction comes after decades of women coming forward to accuse him of sex crimes, including child pornography. He was also previously accused of sexually abusing the late "R&B" star Aaliyah in 1993 when she was only 13 years old.