Spotify drops R. Kelly, XXXTentacion videos over “hateful content” policy

Spotify has dropped R&B singer R. Kelly and 20-year-old Florida rapper XXXTentacion videos from its “music discovery” playlists as part of its hate content and hateful conduct policy.

Kelly is the centre of the #MuteRKelly social media movement that is attempting to short-circuit his career following allegations of 20 years of sexual misconduct, reportedly on under-aged black girls.

#MuteRKelly has lobbied streaming services as Spotify, American radio and his record company to drop him.

It was also threatening to picket a concert in North Carolina unless the show was cancelled.

Spotify said that Kelly and XXXTentacion music would still be found on the platform.

But they would not longer be “actively promoting” them by including them on its playlists including RapCaviar, Discover Weekly and New Music Friday, which are available in 50 countries.

Rap Caviar alone has 9.5 million followers who click on to get the latest recommended videos and generally implies what is cool.

Spotify announced in a statement, “We don’t censor content because of an artist’s or creator’s behaviour, but we want our editorial decisions — what we choose to program — to reflect our values.

“When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful, it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator.”

In August 2017, Spotiy removed white supremacist content from its platform.

XXXTentacion’s camp asked Billboard a rhetorical question: will Spotify also drop the likes of Gene Simmons of Kiss, David Bowie, Seal, Jimmy Page, Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys, Real Estate, Michael Jackson and Miles Davis who had been accused or charged with sexual misconduct.

In the meantime,  a row has broken out between the attorney for singer Chris Brown and famed victim rights lawyer Gloria Allred.

Allred filed a lawsuit this week against Brown on behalf of a woman who claims she was raped during a party at Brown’s Los Angeles home in February 2017.

Brown’s attorney told TMZ that a mediation case found the woman’s claims to be true and that she had demanded $17 million to settle the case.

Allred has sharply denied the claims.

“Jane Doe” claimed that after attending a concert in West Hollywood, she was invited to an after-show party at a recording studio where Brown and rapper Young Lo were working.

She says her phone was taken away from her because it would interrupt the sessions.

When she wanted to leave, the phone was not returned.

She was coerced to go to a party at Brown’s house to get her phone back, where alcohol and illegal drugs were supplied to guests.