R. Kelly is no stranger to controversy. This includes controversy involving allegations of sexual misconduct however, Lifetime’s recent documentary Surviving R. Kelly seems to have brought the curtain call on Kelly’s partnership with RCA Records.
According to Variety R. Kelly was removed from the RCA Records website shortly after 10 A.M. PT. The company has stood by Kelly during the majority of his career despite numerous public allegations for over 20 years. In 1995 he was illegally married to the late singer Aaliyah who was 15 while he was 27, charged with child pornography in 2000, and was recently in the news over allegedly having a “sex cult”. Entertainment attorney Leslie Frank gave some insight as to why Sony may have stuck with R. Kelly by telling Variety that some labels have provisions with their artist stating that if an artist is “convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, generally speaking it is the label’s right to terminate the contract,”. R. Kelly has not been found guilty of any charges against him.
She also stated “Any record company — or, really, any party to any contract — can decide they no longer want to be in the contract,” Frank added “The question is what can happen as a result of them asserting their desire to terminate the term of the agreement. R. Kelly could sue for damages. If R. Kelly does not want to terminate the agreement and instigates a dispute saying that it’s a breach of contract by RCA, if RCA is concerned about the cost of litigation and how a court might decide, they could try to come to a settlement with R. Kelly.”
It would appear that the pressure of the recent Surviving R. Kelly documentary has been too much for the company and contributed to its final decision to part with Kelly.
