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25. R. Kelly has been dogged by sexual abuse allegations throughout most of his career, but that didn’t seem to stop his massive levels of success — until 2017 when a BuzzFeed News report about an alleged sex cult led to resurfaced allegations that he’d had sex with minors and abused women.
Public opinion of Kelly began to drastically shift, with protests outside his concerts and studio, and Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora releasing statements that they would stop promoting his music — many members of Kelly’s personal team also quit. 2019’s six-episode docuseries Surviving R. Kelly further tarnished the star’s reputation, causing Kelly’s record company to drop him and upcoming shows to be canceled.
Soon after, Kelly was hit with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and assault charges against a minor, as well as sex trafficking and sex work charges, and he was later found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. In another trial, he was found guilty of child sexual abuse and pornography and sentenced to 20 years in prison (which — except for one — could be served concurrently with his 30-year sentence). Kelly is currently serving out his sentence.
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