R. Kelly's YouTube channels removed following sex trafficking conviction
Kelly's YouTube channels have been removed after the singer-songwriter was found guilty on all nine counts in his sex trafficking case. As a result, the singer will not be allowed to create any new channels going forward on the platform.
As per Variety, YouTube has not banned Kelly's music and it will continue to offer the singer's music library on YouTube Music.
On Oct. 5, YouTube removed Kelly's two channels—RKellyTV (having 3.5 million subscribers) and RKellyVevo (having about 1.6 million subscribers). The channels were removed citing a violation of its terms of service.
When a user tries to view any video of Kelly's, a message pops up saying: "This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated."
Last week, the 54-year-old singer was found guilty on all nine counts in his sex trafficking case. The singer was found guilty of leading a decades-long scheme to recruit women and underage girls for sex in New York, reported Fox News.
The disgraced singer faces the possibility of decades in prison. Kelly's sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2022.
The verdict followed a trial that began on August 18 and included 50 witnesses. In the trial, Kelly faced federal counts of human trafficking, racketeering, child pornography, kidnapping and forced labour.
In January 2019, Lifetime released the docuseries titled 'Surviving R. Kelly', which brought renewed attention to the allegations against the singer and prompted calls for an official investigation. (ANI)