Tom Joyner is no longer playing R. Kelly’s music.
It’s something he said on air while the founder of the #MeToo movement Tarana Burke appeared on the “Inside Her Story” segment of the “Tom Joyner Morning Show.”
The question of whether fans and radio should support Kelly has been a huge debate since 2002, when a videotape surfaced that showed him engaging in sex acts with a minor and urinating on her.
Since then, more allegations of sexual misconduct and assault with young women have been reported, and Kelly was also accused of running a sex cult in Atlanta with a group of young females. Most recently, a woman claimed the singer infected her with a sexually transmitted disease during an eight-month relationship that started when she was 19 years old.
So because of those things, Burke — as many others have — blasted the entities that have not only kept Kelly working but extremely rich. She also brought up #MuteRKelly, a campaign started by Oronike Odeleye that wants to get all of the singer’s music taken off Atlanta radio.
“There is a lot of work happening,” said Burke, about the collective efforts to shut down Kelly’s music. “But we need help. We need ‘The Tom Joyner Morning’ program to stop supporting R. Kelly. That would help.”
“Okay, you got it,” Joyner said right on the spot. “I’ll do that right now. I won’t play any more R. Kelly music. You want that you got it.”
Burke then asked the legendary host not to invite the singer on any of his famous Fantastic Voyage cruises, and he said that wasn’t going to happen anyway, so it wouldn’t be a problem.
“[This is a] big deal,” one person wrote about Joyner no longer playing Kelly’s music. “Hopefully others follow suit.”
“Now I can start listening again,” another person tweeted. “ Because after Tom made the comment he will no longer play Chris Brown but will still play R. Kelly [it bothered me]. He can do what he wants, ’cause it’s his show. I stop listening then.”
“What took them so long?” a third person asked, seemingly hesitant to express joy over the news.
Perhaps the answer to that question is that Joyner wants to set a precedent for whoever follows him after he leaves. Because in October of 2017, the 68-year-old announced that he would be retiring in 2019, so it’ll be interesting to see if his successor follows his lead by not playing Kelly or establish their own set of rules.
You can listen to Burke’s interview and comments about the singer below.
