R. Kelly’s daughter, Buku Abi, has accused the imprisoned R&B singer of sexually abusing her as a child.
The allegation comes to light in a new two-part documentary, “R. Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,” set to air on the TVEI Streaming Network.
Abi, visibly emotional, shared her traumatic experience: “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 he would do something to me.” She added, “I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.”
The documentary features interviews with Abi’s siblings, Jaah and Robert Kelly Jr., and their mother, Drea Kelly. Drea, R. Kelly’s ex-wife, expressed her anger, stating, “What he did to me, he did to me. But you didn’t have to do it to my damn kids.”
Abi first told her mother about the abuse in 2009. They filed a complaint as “Jane Doe,” it was too late according to the law.
Abi described the lasting impact of the abuse: “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.”
R. Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, has denied the allegations, stating, “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.”
R. Kelly is currently in prison. In 2021, he was found guilty of sex trafficking after years of avoiding punishment for similar claims. In 2023, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes involving minors.
This new accusation from his daughter adds to the long list of serious claims against the once-popular R&B singer.
