SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CelebrityAccess) The state of Illinois recently rejected a festival to be hosted by R. Kelly but it is insisted that it has to do with security, not with the recent controversy regarding the R&B star.
The application was for leasing space at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield for the Spring Break Jam in April. The festival was under review even though organizers announced it and put tickets on sale, Illinois Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Denise Albert told the Chicago Tribune.
“They had just submitted an application, and unfortunately we can’t control when an organizer begins promoting an event,” Albert said.
She added that the event did not meet three criteria:
- “The security of both the physical premises and persons upon the premises of the State Fairgrounds”
- “Reasonably foreseeable problems with security caused by either the nature of the usage or the identity of the proposed lessee or his/her patrons”
- “The welfare of the general community”
The denial comes as the negative reaction increases to the Lifetime television series “Surviving R. Kelly,” a scathing retrospective on Kelly’s alleged sex crimes and how the media and industry ignored them. Kelly has threatened to sue Lifetime.
