Ava DuVernay took to Twitter in an effort to demand that we #MuteRKelly amid the continued sexual abuse allegations against the R&B singer. If #TimesUp like Hollywood says it is, then why is a serial abuser of women of color not being investigated?

We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on the safety + dignity of all women. We demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color + their families for two decades. We call on those who profit from his music to cut ties. #MuteRKelly
#TIMESUP
#WOC
pic.twitter.com/TYmDRVIH00

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 30, 2018

"We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on the safety + dignity of all women," a Monday, April 30, post from DuVernay reads. "We demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color + their families for two decades. We call on those who profit from his music to cut ties."

The #MuteRKelly movement was started by Oronike Odeleye of Creative Currents Artist Collaborative in Atlanta and child pornography survivor and activist Kenyette Barnes to get rid of Robert Kelly once and for all.

“I have been hearing about R. Kelly’s sexual abuse of young black women since I was in my teens," Odeleye said in an interview with The Grio. "Every few years more women come out with their stories. More images and videos surface. More black girls are scarred for life just as they are coming into their womanhood and sexuality."

Ava's call to action comes under the umbrella of Time's Up WOC. The subgroup of Hollywood's #TimesUp movement, Time's Up WOC includes Oscar-nominated director DuVernay, TV mogul Shonda Rhimes and actress Jurnee Smollett-Bell, The New York Times reports. The latter two also announced they'd be joining the campaign to #MuteRKelly on Monday.

We join the call to #MuteRKelly and insist on the safety + dignity of all women. We demand investigations into R. Kelly’s abuse allegations made by women of color + their families for two decades. We call on those who profit from his music to cut ties. #MuteRKelly #TIMESUP #WOC https://t.co/RTco2ZeetZ— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) April 30, 2018

We join the campaign to #MuteRKelly. We're calling on corporations to cut all ties with R. Kelly and insist on safety and dignity for women of all kinds. @RCARecords @Spotify @AppleMusic @Ticketmaster #MuteRKelly #TIMESUP #WOC pic.twitter.com/ON9EkbpumD— jurnee smollett (@jurneesmollett) April 30, 2018

In an open letter from the organization on Billboard, the committee outlines why they are speaking up on this move to get R. Kelly out of here.

"To Our Fellow Women of Color: We see you. We hear you. Because we are you," the letter opened. "For too long, our community has ignored our pain. The pain we bear is a burden that too many women of color have had to bear for centuries. The wounds run deep."

"As women of color within Time’s Up, we recognize that we have a responsibility to help right this wrong," the letter continued. "We intend to shine a bright light on our WOC sisters in need. It is our hope that we will never feel ignored or silenced ever again."

According to the letter, the choice to join #MuteRKelly came after Bill Cosby's conviction. However, that was "just a start."

"Over the past 25 years, the man known publicly as R. Kelly has sold 60 million albums, toured the globe repeatedly and accumulated hundreds of millions of plays on radio and streaming services," the letter read.

The text then includes the singer's many perverse offenses including his 1994 marriage to a then 15-year-old Aaliyah when he was 25 years old; the lawsuits filed against him by at least four women for sexual misconduct, statutory rape, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and furnishing illegal drugs to a minor and his indictments on 21 counts of child pornography.

Now, the Group is calling on RCA Records, Kelly's label, to cut ties with the R&B singer. They are also asking Apple Music and Spotify to stop streaming his music and requesting that Ticketmaster discontinue sale of his tickets for his May 11 concert. Lastly, they are calling on Greensboro Coliseum Complex in North Carolina, which is hosting the May show, to cancel the performance.

Kelly was recently removed from the lineup of the Love Jam concert in Chicago due to his allegations showing that these efforts aren't going unnoticed.

Chicago native R. Kelly was removed from the lineup of the Love Jam concert at UIC Pavilion after protests over sexual misconduct allegations https://t.co/NJp6uMN8Zh
pic.twitter.com/sYobfw40bP

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) April 27, 2018

Some of Kelly's hits such as "Ignition," ''I Believe I Can Fly," ''Step in the Name of Love," ''Same Girl" and "Bump N' Grind," are still played despite the plethora of allegations against him. However, no matter how much you enjoy his music, Time's Up is calling on you to let it go.

"We stand linked with our sisters and will no longer tolerate the predatory behavior of R. Kelly to go unchecked," Smollett-Bell said in a statement, according to The Times. "His music must be turned down and the voices of these brave survivors must be heard."

WOC

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