Illinois state officials reject “Spring Break Jam” concert featuring R. Kelly

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As the fallout from the docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly continues, Illinois officials say a concert in that was to take place in Springfield and hosted by R. Kelly will be scrapped due to the wave of sexual misconduct allegations.

Illinois Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Denise Albert said that the application for the “Spring Break Jam” which was set to take place in April was denied on Thursday because of security concerns following protests outside Kelly’s Chicago studio this week.

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Kelly has been under fire since the airing of the documentary on Lifetime which featured women who stated that they were the victims of abuse by the singer. The accusations have led to widespread backlash against the singer and those who have worked with him. Plus, there are once again calls for radio stations to drop his music.

Chicago’s 95.1 FM announced earlier this week that it will no longer R. Kelly’s music because of the documentary, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Lamont Watts, the station’s CEO, said while he “does not want to pass judgment” on Kelly, he made the decision because the station’s audience is primarily Black women.

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“As a leader of a team where women contribute unselfishly, in a business where the majority of our audience is women, as a son, a brother and a husband of a devoted family, and to hear and see the pain and suffering that is real for so many, effective immediately, we will no longer play the music of R. Kelly,” Watts said in an announcement posted on Facebook.

“This is bigger, bigger than the women who were saying something about the R. Kelly situation,” Watts said. “As you look at both sides and everything going on, and the #MeToo movement, we felt it was the right thing to do.”