R. Kelly’s eldest daughter, Buku Abi, claims in a new docuseries that her disgraced father, who is a convicted sex offender, molested her when she was around 8 or 9 years old.
“I just remember waking up to him touching me,” the 26-year-old, formerly known as Joann Kelly, recalled amid tears in “Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,” according to People.
The musical artist, whom R. Kelly shares with ex-wife Drea Kelly, adds in an episode from the two-part series, “I didn’t know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep.”
Abi said she was in disbelief at times over what the “Ignition” singer allegedly did to her and she “didn’t even want to believe that it happened” because he was her “everything.”
“I didn’t know that, even if he was a bad person, that he would do something to me,” she explained. “I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.”
A lawyer for R. Kelly — who was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering in 2022 and convicted in a separate case for child pornography in 2023 — “vehemently denies” Abi’s 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,” Jennifer Bonjean claimed to People Friday.
“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.”
R. Kelly is serving a 30-year sentence for one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of “any woman or girl” across state lines for an “immoral purpose.”
He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison — with 19 to run concurrently to his first sentence — for three counts of producing child porn in connection with videos of himself abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter and three counts of enticement of minors for sex.
The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer will be eligible for release in 2045, when he will be almost 80 years old.
Abi, meanwhile, maintained in the doc series, streaming now on TVEI Streaming Network, that she was being truthful about her claims against her dad.
She said, however, she didn’t have the courage to tell her mother what happened until the age of 10. Sometime after that confession, the two filed a complaint with the police under “Jane Doe.”
However, R. Kelly was not able to be prosecuted because she allegedly “waited too long.”
“So at that point in my life, I felt like I said something for nothing,” Abi said.
The musician claimed in the doc that the alleged abuse she experienced at the hands of her father caused her to battle mental health issues for years.
“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,” Abi 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.”
Abi said she even became suicidal at one point because she just “didn’t care” if she “lived or died.”
The “Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta” alum described her mom once discovering that her wrists were “all cut up” when they were in a Target bathroom together.
“She just immediately dropped everything, and she was asking like, ‘What’s going on? Are you OK?’” Abi said of Drea, 50.
“She was really worried, and in that moment, I broke down and I had to tell her, like, ‘I don’t think I’m OK. I don’t think that I can do this. I don’t think that I’m gonna make it through to live out the rest of my life.’”
However, R. Kelly’s convictions have brought some sense of resolution to all of those involved.
Abi’s brother, Robert Jr., whose mom is also Drea, added in the series, “If you don’t want to go to jail, don’t do s— that gets you locked up.”
Their youngest sibling, Jaah, added, “You make your bed, you lay in it.”
Drea expressed support for her kids via her Instagram Story Friday. She reposted a video that said her children are “beautiful,” “strong” and “the best thing” in her life.
The pro dancer, who was married to R. Kelly from 1996 to 2009, wrote in the post, “I LOVE MY EGGS!”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226, and call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
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