The issues keep piling up for disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly!
Kelly is reportedly facing eviction from his hometown studio in Chicago, Illinois for $174,000 in unpaid rent and other costs, according to documents obtained by the Chicago Tribune newspaper.
He has been given until Tuesday to pay up, or a signed eviction notice will come into effect.
Landlord troubles are not Kelly’s only issues with the recording studio; City inspectors are expected to enter today. The inspection was granted by a Cook County judge last week after the City demanded the right to get into the warehouse recording studio at 219 N. Justine Avenue. City attorneys said they suspect people may be using it as a residence, which would be a violation of Chicago zoning laws.
Several of his alleged victims claimed he had been holding women, including young girls, in the property. Wednesday morning, a person was seen leaving the studio with a computer, but the person would not answer questions. R. Kelly is supposed to be present himself to grant the inspectors access when they arrive, but it is not known if he will be there.
The allegations all coming in light of the explosive six-part documentary, “Surviving R Kelly,” which aired January 3. The documentary details decades of accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse against the singer, including by his ex-wife Andrea. Those allegations now being investigated as demonstrations have been ongoing outside the studio, calling for a boycott on his music.
Kelly and his lawyers have denied the accusations.
In addition to protest at his studio, today, members of more than half a dozen protest groups descended on Sony Music’s headquarters to demand the label drop R. Kelly. According to Billboard, the action from members of #MuteRKelly, Black Women’s Blueprint, Care2, Color of Change, CREDO, Girls for Gender Equity, NOW-NYC and UltraViolet outside the label’s Manhattan offices is slate to include the delivery 217,394 signatures insisting the major label remove the singer from its roster, as well as the presentation of a “Record Label of Shame” award.
Thank you to everyone who came out to demand that RCA Records #DropRKelly 💪 @NationalNOW @ColorOfChange @OffMuteRKelly @UltraViolet @BlackWomensBP @CREDOMobile @GGENYC pic.twitter.com/QXimUtBZ8q
— NOW-NYC (@NOW_NYC) January 16, 2019
WATCH NOW: Black women and allies deliver more than a hundred thousand petition signatures to @RCARecords headquarters to demand they #DropRKelly. https://t.co/lon5SV0fSO pic.twitter.com/CKuKekC0wP
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) January 16, 2019
Additionally, Kelly was recently denied a concert permit for a gig in Springfield, Illinois, and a number of acts, including Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Chance The Rapper, and the Pussycat Dolls have apologized for working with him and sought to have their collaborations pulled from music services.
The 52-year-old singer, who was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008, has faced renewed scrutiny of his private life following a 2017 BuzzFeed News report in which two sets of parents claimed he had enticed their daughters into a “sex cult.”
Prosecutors in Illinois and Georgia, where he also resides, are investigating Kelly and have appealed for any alleged victims or witnesses to come forward.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Since 2005, Singersroom has been the voice of R&B around the world. Connect with us via social media below.