Ava DuVernay, other Black women call for R. Kelly to be dropped from his recording contract after multiple women accuse him of sexual assault

Director/film maker, Ava DuVernay has joined forces with women of colour to declare support for #MuteRKelly, an online call to action demanding that Live Nation and Sony Music drop singer R. Kelly from his recording contract and cancel his tour dates. Other black women celebrities such as Lena Waithe and Shonda Rimes are also joining the cause, according to a statement released on April 30. For decades, multiple women have accused the popular singer of aggravated assault, statutory rape, and harassment. However, the behaviour of the R&B singer has been largely ignored.

In 2000, R. Kelly was accused of statutory rape and numerous. The accusations continued in the years after. Most recently, reports surfaced of Kelly running a "sex cult", with young girls, some of them underage, held against their will, brainwashed and controlled by the singer.

Most of R. Kelly's victims are blackwomen and they never got justice till date. But DuVernay and other women of color are now saying #TimesUp for R. Kelly. Finally, calls to investigate Kelly and bring him to justice for his sexual misconduct appear to be sticking. The singer was recently dropped by his publicist, lawyer, and assistant. Slowly people are distancing themselves, and DuVernay and other women of color are pushing that further.