NEW YORK — R. Kelly’s daughter Joanne Kelly, who also goes by the name Buku Abi, is telling her story in upcoming new documentary, Karma: A Daughter’s Journey.
In the TVEI Streaming Network special, Abi opens up about allegedly being abused by her father growing up. “He was my everything. For a long time, I didn’t even want to believe that it happened. I didn’t know that even if he was a bad person that he would do something to me,” she shares in the first episode. “I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.”
Abi says she eventually told her mom, Andrea, in 2009 when she was 10 years old. The now 23-year-old says, based on her “personal experience,” she believes prison is a “well-suited place” for her famous father.
“I really feel like that one millisecond completely just changed my whole life and changed who I was as a person and changed the sparkle I had and the light I used to carry,” she says. “After I told my mom, I didn’t go over there anymore. My brother Robert and sister Jaah, we didn’t go over there anymore. And even up until now I struggle with it a lot.”
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The second episode has more details about what allegedly happened.
The second episode of the two-part documentary revealed more about the abuse Abi says she endured at the hands of Kelly when she was 8 or 9 years old. “I just remember waking up to him touching me,” she tearfully explains. “And I didn’t know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep.”
Abi and her mom eventually went to the police to file a complaint but she says “they couldn’t prosecute him because I waited too long. So at that point in my life, I felt like I said something for nothing.”
Kelly’s attorneys have released a statement denying all claims in the documentary: “Mr. Kelly vehemently denies these allegations. His ex-wife made the same allegation years ago, and it was investigated by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and was unfounded, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean told People. “And the ‘filmmakers,’ whoever they are, did not reach out to Mr. Kelly or his team to even allow him to deny these hurtful claims.”
Abi says life as the daughter of the disgraced singer has been difficult.
Abi says she has struggled with suicidal thoughts. “I just got to a point where I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care if I lived or died,” she shared.
Kelly is currently serving a 20-year sentence on charges in Chicago of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex. The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal of that conviction.
He has also been sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking charges filed in New York, for which he has also filed an appeal.
—Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News (TNS)
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If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
