Following a damning report from BuzzFeed News about R. Kelly’s treatment of women housed at two of his residences, the singer and songwriter has canceled several upcoming concerts, reportedly due to poor tickets sales.
On Monday, Kelly canceled four upcoming concerts on his After Party tour circuit—Los Angeles, Dallas, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans—according to Billboard and TMZ. TMZ cited anonymous sources “close to Kelly” who claimed that all four stops were scrapped due to lagging ticket sales. TMZ also noted that a recent concert in Virginia Beach, Virginia, had been “barely half full,” and that Kelly performed for only 45 minutes, much to his fans’ chagrin.
The BuzzFeed story, published on July 17th, contained testimonials from the parents of three women housed at residences in Georgia and Illinois who claimed Kelly was operating an abusive “cult”; the parents are now fighting to bring their daughters back home. Three former residents at Kelly’s homes in Georgia and Illinois reported that he had instituted “rules” for women living at his homes, including wearing jogging suits when guests are present so they don’t expose their figures; turning to the wall when guests are present; relinquishing their cell phones for new, Kelly-approved models and only contacting others with his permission; and acquiescing to having their sexual activity with the musician filmed.
The story was widely shared, trended on Twitter, and spawned at least one petition asking Sony Music Entertainment, Kelly’s label, to drop him from its artist line-up. The same day it was published, Kelly’s lawyer told BuzzFeed News that he “unequivocally denies” accusations of operating a cult.
Remaining Kelly fans can still see the performer a little further inland of Los Angeles, however: TicketMaster shows that his October 8th concert in Ontario, California, is still on track.
