YouTube takes down two R. Kelly official channels after his sex traffic conviction

YouTube has finally taken the step on the R. Kelly matter by removing his official channels on the platform. The singer was recently convicted of sex traffic charges. Last month a New York Jury found him guilty of the sex trafficking charges. The YouTube users have long demanded the removal of his works from the platform. YouTube has taken down the two channels The RKellyTV and RKellyVevo channels. And it has been cleared that R. Kelly will not be able to create any other channel on the platform.

YouTube revealed that they have confirmed that they have removed the two channels that are linked to the singer as per their creator responsibility guidelines. When someone is convicted of or pleads guilty to an awful crime, YouTube deletes their channels if the videos are related to the crime. In the case of R. Kelly, he used his fame as a musician to commit crimes against women and minor girls.

But this does not mean that Kelly’s music will be completely banned from the platform. It will still be available on YouTube Music. The other YouTubers have also uploaded his music videos on the platform. These videos uploaded before now will still be available on YouTube as they are not re-uploads. The responsibility guidelines are only applicable to the creator’s channel and channels connected with them.

Though Kelly was accused of sexual assaults decades ago, the demand for taking down his music started long after. Two women began their campaign to have Kelly’s music taken down from all the streaming platforms and radio in 2017. He was arrested in 2002 after she revealed that he made sexual abuse videos of a child. But he was found not guilty by the jury at that time as the girl in the video proved to be an adult.

Last month, R. Kelly was tried for the sex trafficking charges. He was finally found guilty by the court. His sentence hearing will be held in May. Though the mandatory sentence for the crime is 10 years, Kelly might get a life sentence for his crime.