Skip to content
News

Philadelphia City Council Symbolically Bans R. Kelly From City

R. Kelly Banned from Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s city council expressed solidarity with the Mute R. Kelly movement by unanimously passing a symbolic bill banning the alleged sexual predator from the City of Brotherly Love, CBS Philly reports. The resolution was introduced by Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym on January 25 following the airing of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries.

“The resolution is about not accepting,” Gym told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s about being clear that we will not accept a future where rape is accepted, and rapists and sexual predators get away with their acts. I believe that R. Kelly and predators like him should be shamed and banished from the public sphere.”

Kelly has denied the allegations against him, and he has not been convicted of any sex crimes. Gym’s bill is another indication that public sentiment is turning against Kelly, with a city council convening to basically say “fuck this guy.”

Although the resolution isn’t enforceable in the sense that Kelly will be arrested or physically removed from the city if he tries to perform or just stops by for a cheesesteak, Gym sees the resolution as a statement letting the singer know he should steer clear of Philly.

“This resolution is about fundamentally stating a public declaration that R. Kelly and sexual predators like him don’t belong in a public sphere, with public support,” Gym said. “This symbolic act of solidarity puts all sexual predators on notice.”