In a city where Mr. Kelly has become part of the cultural fabric, the suggestion was explosive. Public sentiment has been tilting against Mr. Kelly since the documentary, but support for him is still easy to find in Chicago.

After the documentary aired, Mr. Kelly celebrated his birthday at a Southside nightclub, singing powerfully as adoring fans cheered him on.

Anaya Frazier, a 17-year-old junior at Gwendolyn Brooks Preparatory Academy in Chicago, said two boys recently blasted R. Kelly songs in the cafeteria. When she asked a security guard to get them to turn it off, she said the guard told her to “get over it,” and that the music was not hurting her.

“A lot of young folks in Chicago, they talk about the R. Kelly situation as if it’s a joke,” said Anaya, who takes part in A Long Walk Home, a nonprofit that uses the arts to empower young girls.

Two decades ago, Anaya’s mother, Tiahanna Robinson, went to Kenwood Academy, the same high school that Mr. Kelly had attended. Ms. Robinson said she remembered Mr. Kelly, who had long since left the school, as one of many men who used to hang around the campus and spend time with female students.

“I knew it was wrong,” said Ms. Robinson, 37. “But at the same time, it was normal almost because that’s what was going on in the area.”

Ms. Robinson said she was no longer a fan of R. Kelly, but her boyfriend still plays his music, arguing that you can love the art and not the artist.