R.Kelly Called Out by Ava DuVernay, Lupita Nyong’o & Lena Waithe In #MuteRKelly Campaign

R.Kelly Called Out by Ava DuVernay, Lupita Nyong’o & Lena Waithe In #MuteRKelly Campaign

Ava DuVernay is the latest celebrity to join in the call to #MuteRKelly. The Emmy Award-winning writer and director took to Twitter today to “demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color and their families for two decades.”

We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on the safety + dignity of all women. We demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color + their families for two decades. We call on those who profit from his music to cut ties. #MuteRKelly #TIMESUP #WOC pic.twitter.com/TYmDRVIH00

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 30, 2018

DuVernay is part of Women of Color, a subgroup within the popular Time’s Up movement, that’s now joining the fight against the Grammy Award-winning singer.

The #MuteRKelly campaign popped up online last summer after sex cult allegations against R. Kelly surfaced, and says its goal is to,

finally push the songwriter out of the music business once and for all after years of alleged abuse that has gone unchecked.

Time’s Up sent out a statement today announcing their support of Women of Color and the #MuteRKelly campaign. The movement has picked up steam after “The Wrinkle In Time” director along with a slew of other celebrities, including Grammy-winning singer/songwriter John Legend and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes tweeted their support today. Other celebs including Questlove, Lena Waithe, Lupita Nyong’o, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Viola Davis and more have joined the movement.

I’m a proud Chicagoan, but the safety and well being of young women of color is way more important to me than “step in the name of love” #muterkelly

A post shared by Lena Waithe (@lenawaithe) on Apr 30, 2018 at 11:52am PDT

Today we join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on safety and dignity for women of all kinds. #TIMESUP

A post shared by Viola Davis (@violadavis) on Apr 30, 2018 at 3:21pm PDT

Since going after Harvey Weinstein, this is the first time the Time’s Up movement has gone after a single alleged abuser. After the collective picked up steam last fall, Kelly was seemingly left out and forgotten. With the recent conviction of actor/comedian Bill Cosby last week, many are wondering why the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer is still allowed to perform and walk free after dozens of alleged abuse, and sex slavery allegations have been made against Kelly for decades.

#MuteRKelly is calling for music streaming giants Apple Music, Spotify, Ticketmaster, as well as the R&B singer’s label RCA to all cut ties with him once and for all. Kelly’s most recent concert in his hometown of Chicago at the University of Illinois last Friday was cancelled after protests from students and faculty. Kelly is still scheduled to perform next month in Greensboro, North Carolina as part of his “Memory Lane” tour.

By:@jade_er_ade