There is no denying that R. Kelly’s music is infectious. Just the other day I found myself singing along in the car. But I had to stop myself and ask: should I be singing this? Sure, one can argue that In reality, not all people feel the same about the long, drawn-out preamble to this child pornography trial. Yesterday, Debra Triplett who is 49-years-old was arrested, yes arrested, for screaming “Free R. Kelly” to the juror when they got off the elevator. Now she is sitting in jail (unless she comes up with $50K for bail) with a charge of indirect contempt of court. This is a mother and grandmother who is so enamored with this man that she thought it was a good idea to come down to the courthouse and act the fool—talk about a waste of time and money.

Apparently, she is not alone. Another overzealous fan named Jean Johnson (also 49) spent the weekend in jail for snapping a picture of the accused singer during pretrial hearings late last year. Johnson explained her actions by describing herself as ‘Kelly’s biggest fan.” All I can say to both of them is: ‘are you out of your mind?’. Some may think I am being hard on these women but come on they are not teenagers fainting in the aisle for the Jackson 5. Both of these sisters have spent nearly five decades on this earth and know that sexual predators are no joke. So they  have to realize that Kelly’s alleged crimes are serious. (But maybe these women were at Michael Jackson’s trial too). 

When I think about the charges against the singer there is a compelling and convincing argument that he used his money and influence to hire a highly skilled legal team to keep this case out of court until the alleged victim was way past the age of consent (she is 23 now). At the same time he has released a string of hits and that strange Trapped in the Closet opus (don’t look for any of his videos here). I suspect that it was a calculated effort to create this push/pull among fans. And if that is the case he has been successful. Yet, in spite of all this, there is still that damning evidence and Kelly’s history of interest in young girls (lest we forget that quickie marriage to Aaliyah at 15).

The bottom line is that no matter how talented an artist is each of us has to decide whether their destructive or criminal behavior should be overlooked. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, I do wonder whether either of these women would be willing to risk leaving a 12 or 13 year-old girl they love in the company of this man. I certainly wouldn’t take the chance (not with Michael Jackson either—for a variety of reasons). How about you?