R Kelly and Sony-owned RCA record label end ties – US media

R Kelly and the Sony-owned RCA record label have ended their working relationship, US media report.

Variety website quoted a source as saying no official announcement of the decision was planned. The reported split follows decades of sexual abuse allegations brought against the 52-year-old Grammy-winning artist, all of which he denies.

The allegations were the subject of a documentary, Surviving R Kelly, released earlier this month. The six-part documentary focuses on the women who have accused the singer of sexual misconduct over the years. It also details the relationship in 1994 between the late singer Aaliyah and R Kelly, who married him when she was 15 and he was 27.

Despite being one of the most successful R&B artists in history, Kelly has been plagued by accusations of sexual misconduct since the 1990s. In 2008, R Kelly stood trial on charges of making a sex tape with an under-age female but was found not guilty. In July 2018, R Kelly released a 19-minute song called I Admit, which responded to the allegations. The track admitted to infidelity but denied claims of paedophilia and non-consensual sex.

(Source: BBC News)