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*R. Kelly has lost his lawsuit against a Georgia concert venue after failing to show up to a Chicago federal courtroom hearing last week. The ruling came as two of his attorneys had stepped down from the case, citing “ethical obligations.”
Kelly’s management company, RSK Enterprises, filed the lawsuit last year claiming breach of contract against Georgia’s Macon Coliseum-operator Comcast Spectacor over a February 2017 concert, reports Billboard. Kelly alleged that Comcast Spectacor never wired him the $100,000 owed for a performance he delivered. The singer sought that amount plus damages.
According to Judge John Robert Blakey’s May 15 filing to dismiss the case, Kelly had already failed to appear at hearings on April 3 and May 8. The document also notes he had warned Kelly “that any future failures to appear may subject this case to a dismissal for want of prosecution.”
The ruling comes after two attorneys representing RSK Enterprises — Heather Blaise of Blaise & Nitschke, P.C. and Travis Life of Leavens, Strand & Glover, LLC — stepped down from the case on April 25, citing “ethical obligations.”
Following their departures, Kelly was ordered to appear at the next hearing via a corporate representative for his company or through new counsel, but failed to do so.
Meanwhile, streaming numbers for Kelly have remained intact a week after Spotify announced it has pulled his music from its playlists, citing its new policy on hate content and hateful conduct.
Before the May 10th announcement, Kelly averaged 6,584,000 weekly streams for the year. But from May 10 to May 16 he garnered 6,676,000 streams for the week, according to Nielsen Music stats reported by the Associated Press.
R. Kelly’s streams have grown steadily in the last two years: His music averaged 4,709,000 weekly streams in 2016 and 5,666,000 weekly streams in 2017. So far for 2018, he is averaging 6,674,000 weekly streams.
To put these numbers in context, R. Kelly’s streams pale in comparison to those of Drake, 2017’s most streamed artist: He averaged 112,735,000 weekly streams last year.
Below is R. Kelly’s most streamed songs in the last month, according to Nielsen Music (information based on streaming from April 17, 2018 through May 17, 2018).
1.“Ignition” — 6,568,000
2.“If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time” — 2,423,000
3.“Bump N’ Grind” — 2,271,000
4.“Same Girl — 1,100,000
5.“Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)” — 1,099,000
6.“I Believe I Can Fly” — 901,000
7.“It Seems Like You’re Ready” — 874,000
8.“Step In the Name of Love” — 737,000
9.“Cookie” — 655,000
10.“When a Women’s Fed Up” — 642,000
11.“I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I)” — 565,000
12.“The World’s Greatest” — 531,000
13.“Feelin’ On Yo Booty” — 524,000
14.“Fiesta” — 484,000
15. “Step In My Room” — 482,000
Kelly has been the subject of intense scrutiny following a number of sexual misconduct allegations that have been levied against him in recent months, including claims he has run a cult that grooms women to act as his sex slaves. He has denied those allegations.
As previously reported, a Texas woman, Faith A. Rodgers, sued Kelly in a Manhattan court on Monday (May 21), alleging sexual battery, false imprisonment and failure to disclose a sexually transmitted disease.
Last month, Kelly’s attorney, assistant and publicist all severed ties.
