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R Kelly seen letting fans touch his crotch and wipe his sweat during concert in footage

Social media footage shows the singer interacting with the crowd during one of his shows in Tampa, Florida

Clémence Michallon

New York

Tuesday 13 November 2018 16:05 GMT

R Kelly lets fans wipe his sweat during his concert on 10 November, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Facebook)

Bizarre footage has emerged showing the singer R Kelly letting fans wipe his sweat and paw at his crotch during one of his shows.

Kelly sang on Saturday night at the Yuengling Center on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa, in front of 2,300 people.

Some at the University of South Florida had protested the event due to the many accusations of sexual misconduct that have been made against the R&B singer, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

But during the show on Saturday night, Kelly found himself among fans.

Social media footage shows the 51-year-old getting close to his audience, standing at the front of the stage.

A YouTube clip sees Kelly asking the crowd to wipe his face, including his nose and his tongue, with a towel. Fans eagerly follow his prompts.

A video posted to Facebook shows fans pawing at the singer's crotch as he stands still.

The touching continues until Kelly steps back.

During the evening, Kelly had told the crowd: "If there's anybody in here that feels they are going to be offended tonight, they need to leave, because it's about to get freakier than a mother," according to the Tampa Bay Times.

In April this year, Time's Up activists such as Shonda Rhimes, Tarana Burke, and Ava DuVernay urged the public to join its boycott of Kelly in light of the allegations of abuse on his part.

Accusations against Kelly span 24 years, beginning in 1994, the year of his marriage to singer Aaliyah, who was then 15. In 2000, the singer was accused of having sex with teenage girls, the Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time.

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In July last year, parents told police that the singer was holding women against their will in an abusive "cult", BuzzFeed reported.

Kelly has denied all the allegations made against him.

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