Lady Gaga to Release New ‘ARTPOP’ Album Without R. Kelly Collaboration
Lady Gaga is re-releasing ARTPOP without the original album’s R. Kelly collaboration, "Do What U Want."
According to Rolling Stone, the "Shallow" singer produced new CD and vinyl copies of her 2013 album but removed the controversial song from the tracklist. An older vinyl version of ARTPOP that includes "Do What U Want" is still featured on Gaga's official website, but it's listed as "sold out."
The news comes amid the continued sexual abuse allegations against the disgraced singer who continues to deny all the claims made against him. Back in January, Gaga also vowed to remove the song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms.
At the time, Gaga received backlash after she didn't speak out against Kelly in the wake of the Lifetime docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, which featured interviews with women who claim he used his power and influence to sexually abuse women and young girls for over two decades.
Gaga, who is a victim of sexual assault herself, later broke her silence via Twitter to apologize for working with Kelly and promised to never work with him again.
“I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously,” she wrote. “What I am hearing about the allegations against R Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible.”
“I intend to remove the song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms and will not be working with him again,” Gaga explained. “I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner. I love you.”
The new edition of Gaga's ARTPOP is set to be released on November 11.