Singer's 4-Year-Old Performed With Him. Now, a $3.6K Fine

Germany's Angelo Kelly is accused of violating child labor laws
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 13, 2021 9:00 AM CST
Singer's 4-Year-Old Performed With Him. Now, a $3.6K Fine
Singer Angelo Kelly performs on stage in Berlin on Jan. 21, 2021.   (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)

A Bavarian court found a folk singer guilty Friday of violating Germany's strict child-labor laws for having his 4-year-old son perform onstage with him during an evening concert. Angelo Kelly, 39, was fined $3,600 by the Hassfurt administrative court for the 2019 appearance at an open-air summer concert with his son William, who sang "What a Wonderful World." The boy is the youngest of Kelly’s five children, per the AP. "During this performance, the child William stood for at least 30 minutes on the stage where he played along, sang along, and interpreted his own song," the court said, per the dpa news agency. "This is considered work by the Youth Labor Protection Act." Kids ages 3 to 6 can take part in musical performances under German law for up to two hours a day, but only with official approval, and only between the hours of 8am and 5pm.

William, who's now 5, appeared on stage until 8:20pm that night, according to authorities. Kelly's attorney, Julian Ackermann, blasted the ruling, saying that interpreting a "brief appearance on the stage in the presence of one's mother and siblings at a concert given by one's own father" as child labor was legally wrong and "far removed from the facts." Kelly, who's popular in Germany, said on his Facebook page that he'd appeal the verdict. "As a father, the well-being of my children is the most important thing for me," he wrote. "William was and is never obliged to appear with us at our shows. If he did it, it was because he wanted to."

(More Germany stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X