Oronike Odeleye

Oronike Odeleye (born 1979/1980) is an American arts consultant and activist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is best known as the co-creator of the #MuteRKelly movement.

Life and career
Odeleye was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father, an African-American sculptor, spent time in Nigeria after completing college and selected her first name from a list bestowed upon him by a Nigerian elder. She received her bachelor's degree in film studies from Syracuse University. Odeleye is an Atlanta-based arts and entertainment consultant.

In 2017, after allegations that singer R. Kelly was maintaining a sex cult involving young black women, Odeleye created a petition to ban Kelly's music from Atlanta radio stations. Soon after, Kenyette Tisha Barnes reached out to Odeleye to invite her to collaborate on the creation of a grassroots digital campaign to boycott his music, which became #MuteRKelly. Odeleye also appeared in the 2019 documentary series Surviving R. Kelly to discuss the campaign.

Accolades

 * The Root 100, The Root (2019)
 * Activist Impact Award, Breakthrough Inspiration Awards (2019)
 * Visionary Award, Resilience (2019)
 * OkayAfrica's 100 Women, OkayAfrica (2019)