Confronted With His Crimes, R. Kelly Whines For More Positivity
Being a grossly talented musician and being a halfway decent human being are not at all mutually exclusive. With misogyny so deeply ingrained in all trenches of society, it’s rather surprising when a musician steps forward with positive notions and support for women. To name a few of the poster children of musical misogyny: from James Brown, the wife-beater to Chris Brown, the girlfriend beater to T.I. believing a woman cannot be president and not surprisingly, R. Kelly, the serial child abuser and teenage predator…. all men have indisputably put out jams that I have pranced around my room to.
But every single time, I feel conflicted about the extent to which I enjoy their music, because I do not enjoy them. Every time I’m screaming to the “Ignition: Remix,” knowing what I know about R. Kelly, his golden showers take a less comical turn, and his interview with HuffPost Live makes a whole lot of sense. In an interview that had me burying my face deeper in my hands than any Facebook post ever prompted, R. Kelly shows his trillest colors. Condescending to the interviewer:
This feels like a deposition. Do you know what a deposition is?
No. A woman can’t possibly know all of the information that R. Kelly carries around with him. I mean, straight from his mouth:
I’m a man who’s been around the world. I’ve been around the world. Multiple times.
Trying not to ruin the entire interview for the first time watcher, it mostly goes to the tune of R. Kelly signing his seal of approval to rape culture. His prior offenses do not count because his fans still support him (what he’s really saying is stop turning out to see him). His prior offenses do not count because he has somehow sold 13 albums. His prior offenses do not count because he’s R. Kelly:
I may not be perfect but I’m perfectly me.
Yes, you are a repeat offender. You have laid your pattern down and without any interruption, you have stuck to it. After having spoken over her dozens of times, ignored her questions and begged to be shown in only the most positive of lights, he walked off stage not soon enough.
For all we know, Michelangelo was a homophobic, misogynistic twat –
doesn’t change the fact that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is
amazing. What I mean is, in an interconnected world where we know more about artists than we ever have it’s not only acceptable but possibly necessary to separate art from the artists. Don’t feel bad, you’re completely normal – liking someone’s work is not acceptance of them as a person or their values.