R. Kelly was forced to remove himself from the upcoming Fashion Meets Music Festival in Ohio due to protests over his past with child pornography claims.
According to Rolling Stone, after two indie bands dropped out of the festival, and a radio station removed their sponsorship, the festival and Kelly agreed on the R&B singer canceling his performance.
Festival reps released a statement about the decision.
"Fashion Meets Music Festival and headlining artist R. Kelly have come to the mutual decision to cancel Kelly's upcoming performance at the inaugural Fashion Meets Music Festival," the statement read.
Kelly's team released a statement of their own, mirroring the festival's decision.
"R. Kelly is sorry to disappoint his fans, but looks forward to seeing them in the near future during one of his upcoming tours."
Uproar began several weeks ago when the concert was announced. The radio station, WCBE ended their sponsorship due to the station's licence holder, Columbus City Schools.
Dan Mushalko, the station's general manager explained that they had no choice, but to rally with listeners and protest Kelly's performance.
"Obviously, since they represent children and teenagers, they didn't want us associated with the event if R. Kelly was a part of it," he said. "So whether you looked at it from our internal ethics, or the feedback from our listeners and the school district, it came down to everything saying, 'You just can't do it.'"
Source: Rolling Stone
