UltraViolet—a women’s rights advocacy group—has announced it has commissioned a plane to fly over the Sony Music offices in Culver City, California tomorrow, (Friday, January 11) to protest R. Kelly. According to a press release, the plane will feature a banner that reads “RCA/Sony: Drop Sexual Predator R. Kelly.” (RCA Records remains the label home of Kelly, who faces multiple allegations of abuse by numerous women. RCA is owned by Sony Music.)
Karin Roland, Chief Campaigns Officer at UltraViolet, shared the following statement:
In August 2018, it was reported that conversations between advocacy groups and RCA Records regarding R. Kelly had stalled. When reached by Pitchfork, a representative for Sony Music declined to comment and referred inquiries to its subsidiary, RCA. RCA has not responded to repeated requests for comment on Kelly.
Earlier today, two musical acts that had previously collaborated with Kelly—Lady Gaga and Phoenix—both issued statements expressing regret for working with the singer. Gaga apologized and stated she will take down her single with Kelly, “Do What U Want,” from streaming services. Phoenix wrote, “We fully support all victims of sexual abuse, and it's our hope that there will be a path to justice.”