R. Kelly blasted the boycott against him by the Time’s Up movement Monday as nothing but an “attempted public lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture.”
“R. Kelly supports the pro-women goals of the Time’s Up movement. We understand criticizing a famous artist is a good way to draw attention to those goals– and in this case, it is unjust and off-target,” the 51-year-old singer’s spokesperson shared in a statement to BuzzFeed Monday following the call for further investigations into the singer’s alleged sexual abuse.
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 13: R. Kelly attends Z100?s Jingle Ball 2013, presented by Aeropostale, at Madison Square Garden on December 13, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Clear Channel)
“We fully support the rights of women to be empowered to make their own choices,” the spokesperson added. “Time’s Up has neglected to speak with any of the women who welcome R. Kelly’s support, and it has rushed to judgment without the facts.”
The comments come after Time’s Up issued a statement demanding “appropriate investigations” into alleged by abuse by the singer.
“We demand appropriate investigations and inquiries into the allegations of R. Kelly’s abuse made by women of color and their families for over two decades now,” the Time’s Up initiative said in a statement on Instagram. “And we declare with great vigilance and a united voice to anyone who wants to silence us: Their time is up.”
The statement even mentioned the guilty verdict handed down by a jury last week against comedian Bill Cosby, calling it “just a start.”
Over the last year or so, several women have spoken out against Kelly and accused him of a variety of sexual misconduct. He has denied the accusations.