R. Kelly Posts Bail as Fallout Begins

As troubled R&B; singer R. Kelly made his first court appearance Thursday in relation to child pornography charges, radio stations around the country grappled with whether to continue playing the popular artist’s music.

Appearing in a Polk County, Fla., courthouse near his home, where he was arrested Wednesday, Kelly, 34, listened as the judge set bail at $750,000 and forbade him to have contact with minors unrelated to him.

Kelly later posted bond and was freed. His attorney, Ed Genson, said the singer would return to Chicago “as soon as he gets his composure, as soon as he sees his wife and kisses his babies, as soon as he puts on a new set of clothes and is able to get a few hours’ sleep.”

The indictment was handed down Wednesday in Chicago. The singer, whose real name is Robert Kelly, faces 21 felony counts of child pornography based on a videotape that allegedly shows him engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl in one of Kelly’s Chicago residences.

“The claims in this case are unfounded,” Genson said after the court hearing. “The charge is that there’s a young lady under the age of 18 on that tape, and there isn’t.”

In the singer’s hometown of Chicago, two prominent radio stations took opposite tacks in the wake of the charges.

“Child pornography is not a funny thing and if he is indeed found guilty, I don’t want to be the radio station that keeps playing his music,” said Todd Cavanaugh, program director at WBBM-FM (96.3). “It’s a much bigger deal, so we are definitely not going to play R. Kelly. If he is found innocent, we will definitely readdress the issue, but right now, there is no R. Kelly on B96.”

But Marv Dyson, president and general manager of WGCI-FM (107.5), said: “He’s still innocent until proven guilty, and I guess he’s going to have his day in court. That’s still our position, and we will continue to play his music, at least as of this moment.”

BET, the cable network that targets black viewers, devoted much of its Wednesday-evening programming to the Kelly indictment. The story received prominent coverage on BET’s newscast and was the sole subject during the topical discussion series “BET Tonight.”

One of those interviewed on that show was Howard McGee, a WGCI disc jockey. McGee told host Ed Gordon that before the indictment, many listeners were placing blame on the young victim, saying she had enticed Kelly. He added that if Kelly was found guilty, listeners would be asked whether they would like the station to continue playing the singer’s music.

McGee added that in an informal call-in poll, 99% of callers said they would continue to support Kelly’s music, saying his private life should be judged separately from his musical projects.

In Los Angeles, the arrest provoked little discussion Thursday morning on urban-oriented stations such as KKBT-FM (100.3--the Beat) and KPWR-FM (105.9--Power 106). Executives at both stations said that they had not received much audience reaction to the indictment, and that Kelly’s music is not on their play lists because of lack of listener interest.

Said Robert Scorpi, programming director of the Beat: “We’re not taking a stand on R. Kelly, but we will really examine very carefully what he puts out in the future, because his music is very sexual. We’re not playing him now because there were no requests for his last records. But for us to say we’ll never play R. Kelly again is not necessarily true.”

Kelly’s label for the past 11 years, Jive Records, issued a brief statement Thursday saying, “We fully support him and his music.”

The singer’s most recent recording, “The Best of Both Worlds,” a highly anticipated collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, fell far short of sales expectations as reports of the video began to circulate shortly before the album’s April release.

With his smooth, soulful tracks, Kelly accounted for more Top 40 hits in the 1990s than any other solo male artist. Among the songs was his 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly,” which became an inspirational anthem used in the Michael Jordan film “Space Jam,” at countless athletic events and in commercials. He performed his song “The World’s Greatest” at the opening ceremony of this year’s Winter Olympics. Kelly’s albums have sold more than 14 million copies in the U.S., and, as a producer, he also helped craft major hits for stars such as Michael Jackson and the late R&B; singer Aaliyah.

Kelly was briefly married to Aaliyah in 1994--a union that took place when she was 15. The marriage was later annulled. Kelly has also faced a series of civil lawsuits from women who alleged that he had sex with them when they were underage. Kelly denied the allegations but has acknowledged settling two of those suits upon the advice of his attorneys.

Kelly is married to a former dancer from his touring troupe. They have a newborn son and two young daughters, and have lived for more than a year at a rented home about 20 miles southwest of Walt Disney World.

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The Chicago Tribune, a Tribune company, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.