【artistic eroticism】

Sexual abuse allegations have artistic eroticismfollowed R. Kelly for years, but constant pressure from those who vehemently oppose the musician (#MuteRKelly being the latest rallying cry) finally seems to be sparking some change.

Spotify told Billboardon Thursday that the streaming service will stop promoting R. Kelly's music on their playlists and recommendations.

"We are removing R. Kelly’s music from all Spotify owned and operated playlists and algorithmic recommendations such as Discover Weekly," the statement from Spotify to Billboard read.

"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," it continued. "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."

This announcement comes at the heels of Spotify's new public policy, which was cultivated after discussing various definitions of "hate content" with organizations like GLAAD, The Southern Poverty Law Center, and more.

The removal has sparked positive responses from users on Twitter. But it's also brought up questions regarding what the platform — and other services — will plan to do with other controversial artists, like XXXtentacion for example, who have been involved in domestic violence cases, sexual assault, abuse, and more.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

You can read more about Spotify's new policy and this interesting move here.

Want more clever culture writing beamed directly to your inbox? Sign up here for the twice-weekly Click Click Click newsletter. It's fun – we promise.