Buku Abi, daughter of R Kelly. Photo / Getty Images
Buku Abi, daughter of R Kelly. Photo / Getty Images
Warning: This story discusses sexual abuse.
Buku Abi has alleged that she was abused by R Kelly.
The 26-year-old singer is the daughter of the I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker – who is currently behind bars after he was convicted on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse – and claimed that she was “too scared” to speak out about the way he had allegedly treated her as a child.
Speaking in the new documentary Karma: A Daughter’s Journey – which premiered on Friday – she said: “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.
“I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.
“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.”
The Dear Daisy singer – whose real name is Joann Kelly – admitted that once she did open up to her mother Andrea, she just stopped seeing her father and she “struggled” with that as the years went on.
She said: “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.”
In the second episode of the documentary series, she claimed that she just “pretended to be asleep” when the alleged abuse was taking place, and eventually filed a complaint as Jane Doe but a prosecution was impossible because she had waited “too long” to report it.
However, the Grammy Award-winning star has been quick to deny all allegations made by his daughter.
In a statement to People, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said: “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 and Family Services and was unfounded .... 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.”
Kelly was previously accused of videoing himself having sex with underage girls, as well as of rigging his 2008 state trial on child porn charges, for which he was acquitted.
In February 2023, Kelly was sentenced in Chicago to 20 years in prison on various charges relating to abuse.
He is currently serving 19 years of his two sentences concurrently, and will not be eligible for release until 2045.
SEXUAL HARM
Where to get help:
If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
