Although he’s had a tremendously successful career, these days, R. Kelly isn’t a person people are trying to align themselves too closely with, in light of his deplorable history of sexual abuse. Most recently, he was accused just yesterday of grooming a 14-year-old girl to be his “sex pet.”
Jack Antonoff has built himself a reputation as an expert pop collaborator thanks to his work with the likes of Taylor Swift and Lorde, and although he hasn’t worked with Kelly, even being on the same record label as the controversial singer is too close for comfort (both are signed to RCA Records). In a tweet posted on Wednesday night (that has since been deleted but was preserved in a screenshot by Billboard), Antonoff wrote, “I hope my label drops R. Kelly. I’ve discussed it with them a number of times.”
RCA has not commented on Antonoff’s tweet, but he’s surely not the only person the label has heard from who wants Kelly off the RCA lineup: In July 2017, around when allegations of Kelly’s “sex cult” began to garner public attention, a petition asking that Sony Music (RCA’s parent company) and Live Nation dissolve their relationships with the controversial singer was created. The petition currently has over 36,000 signatures.
