CELINE DION PLANS to remove her collaboration with R Kelly from streaming services following the release of a TV series which documents allegations of sexual abuse against him.
The French-Canadian singer recorded I’m Your Angel with Kelly in 1998, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the US.
A spokesperson for Sony Music Canada told ET Canada the record label has “received instructions from Dion’s management to proceed to remove” the duet from streaming services. The song has already been removed from YouTube.
The documentary series by Lifetime, Surviving R Kelly, aired recently in the US. It looked at allegations that Kelly has sexually abused women and girls throughout his career.
In the programme, backup singers detailed sexual relations between Kelly and three girls under the age of 16, including the late singer Aaliyah, who was just 15 when the pair married in an illegal ceremony in 1994 before the union was annulled.
Kelly denies all allegations of sexual misconduct made against him. He has also denied knowing Aaliyah’s age at the time of their marriage – a stance that has been widely disputed. He said he plans to sue Lifetime over the documentary.
Lady Gaga and Chance the Rapper
Dion is the latest star to remove a collaboration with R Kelly from various websites.
Last week Lady Gaga said her 2013 duet with Kelly, Do What You Want (With My Body), would be removed from streaming services.
Gaga, who is a sexual assault survivor, said she recorded the track during “a dark time” in her life.
She apologised for what she described as “poor judgement” and for not speaking out sooner, saying she stands behind the women making allegations about Kelly.
I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I’d tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused, post-traumatic state that I was in – or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation – to seek help and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we’ve been going through.
“I can’t go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault,” she said.
Chance the Rapper’s 2015 duet with Kelly, Somewhere in Paradise, has also been removed from streaming services. He too has apologised for working with Kelly.
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