Should R. Kelly Be Able To Keep His GRAMMY Awards?

The fall from grace that R. Kelly has been living through for the past two decades has seen him lose everything from his house of horror allegedly filled with underaged girls and boys all the way to the immense amount of respect he once had in the music industry. One thing he has been able to keep a hold of is the record of accolades won throughout his career, particularly the three he received at the prestigious GRAMMY Awards back in 1998. However, many people think even those should be revoked due to the crimes he’s been convicted for, including sexual abuse, racketeering and human trafficking amongst others. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE. In a recent interview with AP News, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. made it clear that although he finds the charges against Kellz to be “disturbing,” that doesn’t necessarily mean that his GRAMMYs will instantly be rescinded. Take a look below at what Harvey told AP in regards to revoking R. Kelly’s GRAMMY awards:

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“Despite the acts attached to Kelly, Mason said the singer’s three Grammys will remain with him for now. He, along with the academy, will continue to evaluate their decision with caution.

‘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,’ Mason said. In 1997, Kelly won Grammys in three different categories for ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ from the ‘Space Jam’ soundtrack.

‘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,’ he continued. ‘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.'”

  STAY INFORMED! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER! Given the fact that countless musicians have gone through similar accusations as R. Kelly and yet only one GRAMMY has been revoked in the ceremony’s 62-year history — Milli Vanilli’s infamous lip-synching fiasco costed the duo its “Best New Artist” win back in 1990 — it’s hard to say where this decision will ultimately lead.

Reactions have been mixed, with some who believe R. Kelly’s awards should be taken away while others feel he rightfully earned them regardless of his transgressions outside of the music. See some of the standout reactions we spotted on social media below, and let us know what you think:

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1. Can't erase his accomplishments, they were won even though what he did was wrong.

via @HipHopImm0rtal

2. He's never gonna see them again, let again touch them. What's the point?

via @goodwillfiction

3. The Recording Academy are not about to pull that thread. They’re still regularly shortlisting and awarding abusers so it will get gnarly fast

via @kienetix

4. Why would they? His music was the best. His current situation is another subject.

via @RichieRolex1

5. They want to revoke R. Kelly’s grammy’s smh Y’all really be bored, thinking of random shit huh Taking that away doesn’t change ANYTHING! Not a damn thing! Regardless, if U think he’s guilty R not he earned his accolades. He is a musical genius and that won’t change either.

via @DAT_HENNY_CHICK

6. Do they really wanna start taking Grammys away?? That would open a door that not a lot of people wanna go through.

https://twitter.com/StuntManDennis/status/1453468140013121536

via @StuntManDennis

7. The @RecordingAcad should take away R. Kelly’s three Grammys since he’s now a convicted sex offender but instead they made a very bad decision by letting him keep his awards. #muteRkelly

via @MarkTrezise

8. lol lol I know the man sick and fucked up but you can’t take away from what he done for music if you take away what he done then nicki needs shit taken Wayne hov and so many others

https://twitter.com/BuddhathabigAPE/status/1453142586802282497

via @BuddhathabigAPE

9. if they take r. kelly’s grammys away, they should give milli vanilli’s back!

https://twitter.com/LennieSalinas74/status/1453358809213280256

via @LennieSalinas74

10. Take R Kelly to jail , leave his Grammys alone , he earned that shii

via @illylowkey