Kiwi fans of controversial RnB star R. Kelly are being urged not to buy tickets to his upcoming New Zealand show.
The singer has been accused of sexually abusing underage girls since the 1990s, including allegations that he held young women at his property against their will.
In January the six-part documentary Surviving R. Kelly reignited public interest in the allegations, featuring interviews with women claiming to have been victims of R. Kelly.
His scheduled show at Auckland's Trusts Arena was cancelled in the wake of the scandal, but on Wednesday he tweeted that he would be coming to New Zealand with a new promoter.
Tour dates and details have yet to be announced.
Dr Ang Jury, chief executive of Women's Refuge, says R. Kelly shouldn't be welcomed onto our shores.
"We don't need someone like that coming to New Zealand," she told Newshub.
"We just simply don't. The man's music might be good, but the rest of what he brings with him is unhealthy and unwell."
She's concerned about what his presence here could mean for survivors of sexual abuse.
"I think it will be another confirmation to them that this sort of behaviour is way too easy to get away with. Someone can do some of the things he's a little more than accused of, I think there's a some fairly solid evidence there now, and he can still ply his trade, make plenty of money, be venerated by crowds of people.
"It doesn't make them feel like people are listening to their experiences, I imagine."
Dr Jury believes there should be some kind of intervention to prevent him from coming, whether that comes from the Government or mass public protest.
"We've got really big issues in this country with domestic violence, with sexual violence, with violence against women in short.
"He's emblematic of so many of those problems and having him here is just a bad message."
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She says she's sure there are "thousands" of Kiwis who might want to go to his concert, and she has a simple message for them.
"I'd just urge them to stop and think about who they're listening to, who they're watching. It's possible to be talented and all the rest of it without being a violent predator."
R. Kelly's new promoter, the Melbourne-based Flamingo Dreamz, has been approached for comment.
Newshub.
