ATLANTA, USA – Buku Abi, the 26-year-old daughter of R&B singer and convicted sex offender R. Kelly, has come forward with new allegations that she was a victim of her father’s sexual and emotional abuse, shedding light on her experience for the first time.
Her revelations are part of a two-part documentary titled R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey, now streaming on TVEI Networks.
The documentary features emotional interviews with Buku Abi, born Joanne Kelly, her siblings, and their mother, Drea Kelly, who was married to the disgraced artist from 1996 to 2009.
“He was my everything. For a long time, I didn’t even want to believe that it happened,” Joanne says in the film’s first episode, referring to her father.
“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.”
While Joanne does not go into the specific details of her abuse in the first episode, she makes it clear that her father’s incarceration is justified.
“Jail is a well-suited place for him,” she asserts, alluding to her own “personal experience” with her father’s alleged actions.
Painful Memories and Unanswered Justice
In the documentary’s second episode, Joanne recalls an incident of abuse that she says took place when she was just eight or nine years old.
“I just remember waking up to him touching me,” she says tearfully. “And I didn’t know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep.”
The emotional toll of the abuse, she explains, profoundly affected her.
“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 shares.
After she confided in her mother in 2009, the family stopped visiting R. Kelly, distancing themselves from him.
“They couldn’t prosecute him because I waited too long,” Joanne says about filing an anonymous complaint with her mother.
“So at that point in my life, I felt like I said something for nothing.”
R. Kelly’s Denial Through His Legal Team
In response to the allegations, R. Kelly denied the claims through a statement released by his lawyer to People.
“His ex-wife made the same allegation years ago, and it was investigated by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and was unfounded,” the statement read.
“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, 57, is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina.
He was sentenced to 30 years in 2022 after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking.
In 2023, he received an additional 20-year sentence on charges of illegal sexual activity and producing child pornography, though a judge ruled that the sentences would run concurrently, with an extra year added.
The judge later rejected Kelly’s appeal against the 2023 sentence, cementing his time behind bars.
A Daughter’s Journey Towards Healing
R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey offers an intimate look at Joanne Kelly’s process of confronting her traumatic past.
It captures not only her pain but also her efforts to reclaim her life. Joanne’s mother, Drea, and siblings—Robert Jr. and Jaah—are also featured in the film, sharing their perspectives on the family’s experience.
The documentary raises awareness about the impact of sexual abuse within families and the complexities of seeking justice. It is available for streaming now on TVEI Networks.
For those in need of support, Rape Crisis offers confidential services for survivors of sexual violence. More information can be found on their website.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual abuse or assault, contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for support. Here are links to organisations that can help you HERE and HERE.
