YouTube has deleted two of R. Kelly’s official channels from the video platform after he was found guilty in his sex trafficking trial in Brooklyn according to reports.
Kelly was found guilty of nine racketeering and sex trafficking counts last week on Monday, September 27. Around 50 witnesses were called to testify during the trial. The disgraced singer faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on May 4, 2022.
“We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to R. Kelly in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines,” a spokesperson for YouTube said. YouTube’s “creator responsibility guidelines” state that the company might remove a user for “on- and/or off-platform behavior that we may consider to be inappropriate.” The guidelines continue by saying that a user can be penalized for “participating in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty, or participating in fraudulent/deceptive behavior leading to real world harm.”
The two channels in question are R. Kelly TV and R. Kelly Vevo, both of which now display messages letting users know that the accounts have been terminated.
“Egregious actions committed by R. Kelly warrant penalties beyond standard enforcement measures due to a potential to cause widespread harm,” Nicole Alston, YouTube’s head of legal, said, per Bloomberg. “Ultimately we are taking this action to protect our users similar to other platforms.”
Alston added that Kelly is barred from ever using YouTube again. Despite the ban, Kelly’s music will still be allowed on YouTube Music. As of this writing, Kelly’s music remains available on major music streamers like Spotify and Apple Music.
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