Time's Up campaign takes aim at R Kelly

The Women of Colour committee call for R. Kelly's music to stop playing and his concerts to be cancelled

The Time's Up campaign is taking aim at R. Kelly over sexual abuse allegations against the singer.

On Monday, the organisation dedicated to helping women who have endured sexual abuse issued a statement requesting Kelly's behaviour be further investigated.

R. Kelly has come under scrutiny during the past year as women have made claims of sexual coercion and physical and sexual abuse against him.

Kelly has denied the charges against him.

The Time’s Up statement - issued by the Women of Colour committee in the Time’s Up umbrella - was directed towards women of colour saying, “We see you. We feel you. Because we are you.”

The statement continued, "For too long, our community has ignored our pain. The pain we bear is a burden that too many women of colour have had to bear for centuries. The wounds run deep. As Women of Colour within Time's Up, we recognise we have a responsibility to help right this wrong. We intend to shine a bright light on our WOC sisters in need.”

“We demand appropriate investigations and inquiries into the allegations of R. Kelly's abuse made by women and their families for more than two decades now. And we declare with great vigilance and a united voice to anyone who wants to silence us — their time is up,” the statement read.”

Representatives for the Women of Colour committee include director Ava DuVernay, producer Shonda Rhimes and actress Jurnee Smollett-Bell.

The committee also added that it will join the conversation around #MuteRKelly on Twitter to help cancel Kelly’s concerts and stop his music from being played.

Time’s Up is looking for direct action from Kelly’s label RCA records, Spotify and Apple Music, which stream Kelly’s music and Ticketmaster, which has sold tickets to his tour dates.

In addition to these demands, the organisation is calling for his May 11 show in Greensboro, North Carolina to be cancelled.

Time’s Up called Bill Cosby’s conviction “just a start” in justice for sexual predators.

Smollett-Bell issued an additional statement to the Associated Press saying, “We stand linked with our sisters and will no longer tolerate the predatory behaviour of R. Kelly to go unchecked. This is a call to action to #MuteRKelly. His music must be turned down and the voices of these brave survivors must be heard.”

Kelly has risen as an artist for over 26 years with hits like “Ignition,” “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Bump N’ Grind.”

The musician has been accused of questionable and criminal behaviour since he married a 15-year-old Aaliyah in 1994.

The late singer had been Kelly’s protege and they later refused to confirm they were even married.

In 2002, Kelly was accused of child pornography when a video of him having sex with and urinating on a teenage girl surfaced.

By 2008, he was acquitted of all charges and has continued his career.

In recent years, more alleged victims have come forward about sexual misconduct claims against Kelly, including a woman who told Rolling Stone she was in an abusive relationship with the musician, parents who claimed their daughter was being held by Kelly in a sex cult and another woman who claimed the musician had given her a sexually transmitted disease and was grooming her to be in a sex cult.

Kelly has denied any and all allegations against him.