Last month, Buzzfeed broke the unbelievable story that famed rapper R Kelly had been harbouring young women in his home, where they were obsessively controlled, and unable to contact their families. Unsurprisingly, the report has had a less than positive impact on R Kelly’s ticket sales. Four of his upcoming gigs have been cancelled, in New Orleans, Dallas, Baton Rouge and Los Angeles. The cancellations have been due to “poor ticket sales” according to TMZ, and the gigs that were not cancelled definitely didn't sell out- his gig at Virginia Beach was said to be less than half full. While sources closer to the rapper say the Los Angeles gig cancellation is due to a “scheduling conflict”, tickets aren’t exactly in high demand anyway.
Kelly himself has denied claims that he’s “running a cult” as the most extreme claims say. His first reaction to the accusations didn’t come from Kelly himself, but instead through a more professional statement from his lawyer, Linda Mensch. "Mr. Kelly unequivocally denies such accusations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name,” the statement read.
Cult accusations aside, this isn’t the first time that a report has been published regarding Kelly’s inappropriate sexual history with young women. Journalist Jim DeRogatis, who also has been covering the story for Buzzfeed, published a report about Kelly’s relationships with underage girls back in the 2000s. His latest report also motivated another young woman to speak out against Kelly for misconduct, calling him “manipulative” and “controlling.” Kelly posted a video calling the accusations “crap” and announcing that his tour would continue as planned.