The Recording Academy Is In No Rush To Take Away R. Kelly’s Grammy Awards
Although R. Kelly has been found guilty of sex trafficking charges, the Recording Academy wants to make it clear that they will not take away his Grammys without an investigation of their own.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told the Chicago Sun-Times, “I think it’s something that we’re going to need to take a good hard look at, have a lot of conversations about, work through and make a decision.”
He added, “But right now, I think it’s something that is going to take a little bit more consideration before we can really dictate or decide. My initial feeling is we’re probably not a business that we want to be in of taking people’s awards back after they’ve been given. But we’ll take a good look at it and see.”
The singer and songwriter has won three Grammys in his musical career: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Song Written for a Movie Picture, Television or Visual Media, all for “I Believe I Can Fly,” in 1998.
R. Kelly, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, is currently still in custody and has been placed on suicide watch following his guilty verdict.
According to reports, the artist has now hired Bill Cosby‘s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean to help overturn the ruling.
