YouTube shuts down two R. Kelly channels following singer's conviction

After being found guilty of sex trafficking, Kelly is off YouTube.

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Erin Carson

Oct. 6, 2021 1:24 p.m. PT

YouTube is giving the boot to two channels associated with rapper and R&B singer R. Kelly, after he was found guilty of sex trafficking.

"We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to R. Kelly in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.

Those guidelines list prohibitions against "causing malicious harm to others" and "participating in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty, or participating in fraudulent/deceptive behavior leading to real-world harm."

This doesn't mean Kelly is being scrubbed from YouTube. His music will still be available on YouTube Music, and his tunes are allowed in YouTube videos.

In September, Kelly was convicted on all counts during a federal sex trafficking trial. YouTube isn't the first platform to ban Kelly. In 2018, Kelly's music fell under Spotify's hateful-conduct policy, which removed songs or artists, or buried them on the platform. The service later backtracked on the policy.