Friday's announcement that controversial singer R Kelly will be performing in New Zealand has sparked public outrage and stern questions from Women's Refuge NZ.
He's set to play in Auckland in February - but some are calling for him to be banned.
The 'Ignition' hitmaker has a long history of sex crime and abuse allegations from multiple women and girls. In 2008, he was charged with 14 counts of making child pornography, but was not convicted.
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Acclaimed Kiwi dance choreographer Parris Goebel slammed news of the show on Twitter, pointing the finger at NZME's Flava radio station, which was supporting the concert.
"Please tell me it's a joke - R Kelly is having a show in Auckland and @FlavaRadio is hosting him?," she wrote to her 58,000 followers.
Other comments across social media echoed Goebel's sentiments.
"Gross - hopefully his visa gets declined. We don't need him in our country," one person said on Newshub's Facebook page.
"We don't want him. There are already too many abusers here already," wrote another.
Flava has responded to the backlash, saying it's pulling support of the show.
"Whilst he is a massive artist, you are right - all the other stuff around him is not part of what Flava is about and we cannot and will not support this show," the station tweeted.
Women's Refuge Chief Executive Dr Anj Jury says she "doesn't understand" why singer R Kelly has been invited to perform in New Zealand.
"I don't see the value that he's going to bring by visiting us," she told Mark Sainsbury on RadioLIVE.
"Yes, he's talented musician, but sometimes that's just not enough."
Although R Kelly has not been officially convicted of the alleged offenses, Dr Jury said that did not exonerate him.
"The weight of complaints, particularly when it comes to some very young women, over a sustained period of time, involving a great many lawsuits... fans might need to take a bit of a critical look at what's going on, and not be blindly loyal.
"It's that loyalty that's put some women at risk," she added.
R Kelly's the King of R&B Tour will take place at Auckland's Trust Arena on February 15, 2019.
Newshub.
