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Spotify Removes R. Kelly Music From Playlists

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Spotify is removing R. Kelly's songs from its playlists, starting today.

While his music will still be on the platform, it will not be actively promoted, according to a company statement. Billboard was the first to report the move.

"We are removing R. Kelly's music from all Spotify owned and operated playlists and algorithmic recommendations such as Discover Weekly," Spotify said in a statement emailed to CBS 2. "His music will still be available on the service, but Spotify will not actively promote it."

"We don't censor content because of an artist's or creator's behavior, but we want our editorial decisions - what we choose to program - to reflect our values," the company said.

"When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful, it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator."

Spotify made the decision, based on the company's hate conduct policy.

The R&B superstar has an alarming history with women.

According to a disturbing account on Buzz Feed published last summer, he has lured at least a half-dozen young women into an abusive, "cult-like" existence,

Reporter and music critic Jim DeRogatis interviewed family members of the women and former associates of Kelly who described the singer controlling every aspect of the women's lives.

According to the former members of Kelly's inner circle, the women were told what to eat, how to dress and when to sleep and bathe. Kelly also records his sexual encounters with the women.

The women live in Kelly's rented properties in Chicago and Atlanta, Buzz Feed reported.

This week, two more women came to BuzzFeed with similar stories. 

It was DeRogatis, then a music critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, who first reported on a tape that allegedly showed Kelly engaging in sex acts with a minor more than 15 years ago.

The singer was charged with child pornography in 2008 and acquitted after a sensational trial in Cook County.

Last month, R, Kelly was dropped from a concert lineup at UIC after student groups complained.

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