I feel like it definitely hurt his career. His first trial started in 2009 I believe. I don’t think he ever had a real hit record after that. Felt like he was kind of in the shadows after that. His albums would still chart well on the R&B charts but he didn’t really have any smash hits on the pop charts or anything. Not outright cancelled but anytime his name came up people were like “oh that’s problematic”. That Gaga song was definitely one random pop up for him but I can’t recall too many other BIG projects he was a part of after that or huge artists he collabed with. He did a song with Future on Pluto but that was before future got as big as he is. He was Ye’s cruel summer and the young money rich gang album but those never really took off in pop culture too much. His career didn’t straight up die but it was definitely never the same, though maybe I’m misremembering.

Chris Brown stayed in pop culture and charting hit records and working with major artists after his Rihanna thing. And he kept getting arrested more times. I feel like he got second and third and fourth and fifth chances and he just couldn’t help himself.

The MJ reporting always felt more sensationalized and predatory. This sounds subtle but I always saw the MJ stuff portrayed as he was messing with “kids” whereas R Kelly was messing with “underage women”. Not saying this is right, but “kids” I think drew a more visceral reaction. I think this has to do with what someone mentioned on the first page where RKelly didn’t get as harsh because it was black girls. MJ was mostly white kids from I recall and I think that definitely played a part in the harsher criticism. Feel like the RKelly stuff definitely got treated less harshly because it was black teenage girl accusers vs white prepubescent children allegations. Ugly truth for America there both on the racial front and acting like teens is “less bad” for the s*** R Kelly was doing. And also the MJ stuff was with boyd so elements of homophobia as well there.

Not sure Whiteney ever really got cancelled or anything. People just kind of mocked and laughed at her being a crackhead. Same as Nikki today, tbh. Nicki made it worse for herself with the MAGA s***.

yes, that’s why the #MeToo movement was so important. pedophilia would still be a punchline without it.