The Impact Of ‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ Four Weeks Later
Developments post-’Surviving R Kelly’ reveal an impact that is both encouraging and frustrating.
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, French critic and writer, was onto something when he wrote in a January 1849 edition of Le Figaro, ”plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” Translated to “the more things change, the more they stay the same” in English, Alphonse Karr’s words perfectly capture the impact of Lifetime’s Surviving R Kelly docuseries, four weeks later.
On the docuseries’ impact, recent developments run the gamut from encouraging to frustrating. Some encouraging developments include:
- Radio stations, including KRNB and K104 in Dallas and 95.1 in Chicago, dropping R Kelly from their rotation. Spotify quietly launched a mute feature to allow listeners to #MuteRKelly and other artists of their choice from the streaming platform, much to the surprise of activist group Color of Change. The group previously advised Spotify around a new proposed Hate Content and Hateful Conduct policy in 2018.
- Law enforcement involvement, including an FBI inquiry into R Kelly’s alleged travel with a minor, an inquiry into his actions by Cook County, Illinois, and a criminal investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Georgia. This recent involvement by law enforcement is an encouraging sign for those who believe the singer was long due for life-long habitation underneath a prison cell.
- Former collaborators including Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and Chance the Rapper apologizing and pulling their respective songs with Kelly from streaming platforms. For Chance the Rapper specifically, his expressed regret over his dismissal of R Kelly’s abuse is important. He holds himself accountable for this mistake. And in this case, ignoring Kelly’s abuse because his victims were Black girls was a mistake.
- Kelly’s release from Sony Music and RCA. The singer is reportedly pitching a new album to distributors.
- Fresh conversations around sexual assault in the music industry. On a January 5th episode of the popular The Joe Budden Podcast, Budden and his co-hosts reacted to the series and unpacked their own prior assumptions around R Kelly and sexual assault in the industry as a whole. Co-host Mal admitted he wasn’t aware so many women he personally knew went through their own experiences of sexual assault. And Rory acknowledged cis-gender men like him don’t always make it easy for women to speak on their experiences. Conversations like these increase visibility on sexual assault in the music industry in a similar way Ronan Farrow’s 2017 expose on Harvey Weinstein and “Times Up” — an organizational offshoot of the “MeToo” movement created by Tarana Burke — did in the film industry.
That being said, it’s frustrating listeners drove a 116% increase in streams for a documented pedophile immediately after the series’ premiere. Maybe it was stan behavior or just curiosity. Either way, the increase in streams seems to fall in line with consumers’ fascination with all things terrible and unsavory.
It’s kind of like the current obsession with the Netflix docuseries Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and its main protagonist. As writers like Alicia Elliot noted, the series and online viewers have been quick to latch onto Bundy’s portrayal as a “charming” and “handsome” man. That’s despite Ted Bundy being an executed killer who kidnapped, raped and mutilated well over 30 women.
Also, the knee-jerk move to defend R Kelly and not his victims by entertainers including Taraji P. Henson, Lil’ Mo, Joyner Lucas, Da Brat, and Erykah Badu appear to be consistent with Black people’s overall impulse to defend their men. And that’s frustrating because this defense almost always comes at the expense of Black girls. Not to mention the female fans who have supported the singer online under the #ISupportRKelly hashtag before and after the docuseries’ premiere.
These developments are no accident. Instead, they are consistent with American society’s treatment of celebrity, the music industry, “cancel culture,” and violence against Black girls.
In music, fans are seemingly willing to disregard bad behavior and “separate the art from the artist” if the music slaps hard enough. Detailed accounts of violence against Black girls are still met with disbelief and tone-deaf pleas for increased parental involvement. In the Black community, the same “cancel culture” which knocked Weinstein — a White man — out of his powerful position in the film industry for sexual assault is met with resistance when turned toward their own talent. Or worst yet, outright support for the abuser, as evidenced by statements from rapper Joyner Lucas and singer Erykah Badu.
With Surviving R Kelly four weeks in the rearview, it’s tempting to treat the docuseries as a story to be shocked by today, and indifferent towards tomorrow. However, viewers shouldn’t treat the docuseries as a story of the week. For one, it does a disservice to executive producer Dream Hampton’s hard work, the survivors’ testimonies, and the young women believed to be currently trapped in the singer’s sex-trafficking ring. Secondly, if recent developments are any indication, Surviving R Kelly will change existing narratives around sexual assault in the music industry for the better.
But positive change is hard. And it requires admitting fault and committing to fixing those mistakes.
It can be argued the music industry’s profit motive also makes the prospect of change even more dire. Like other capitalist ventures, its leaders are set up like Pavlovian dogs to salivate at whatever formula feds them the most.
How can the industry really change its treatment of sexual assault when listeners are still buying the products abusers are shilling?
Kodak Black dropped a Billboard topping album last December, despite having a rape charge on his jacket. And Tekashi 6ix9nine enjoyed multiple hits including “FEFE,” “Gummo,” and “Billy” despite being previously sentenced to probation for performing sexual acts with a child.
Music is also essentially a personal experience. There are memories attached to our favorite songs. Those songs serve as the soundtrack to our daily commutes, parties, and love-making sessions. They motivate us as we’re dying in the gym and pushing through the last few hours of our work shifts. The impulse to defend R Kelly and abusers like him in music is, thus, related to our desire to protect our own personal memories.
In 2019 though, what does it say about us if we continue to prioritize profit and our memories of stepping in the name of love over the safety and dignity of Black girls?
That implications of that question are much scarier than we could ever imagine.
tiffany is a writer, social critic, and sales executive with a lot to say. Check out her other ramblings here on Medium and Twitter (@tiffanysdillon).
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