Buku Abi (born Joann Kelly), daughter of R&B King R. Kelly, sent royal shockwaves through the Web on Friday (October 11) when she alleged the embattled singer sexually abused her when she was as young as 8-years-old.
And while the elder Kelly is currently serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking concurrent to a 20-year prison sentence for enticement of minors for sex, he quickly broke his silence on Abi’s shocking accusation.
See what he said inside.
In episode 1 of TVEI Streaming Network’s recently premiered two-episode documentary ‘Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,’ Buku dropped jaws with her troubling accusations against her GRAMMY-winning father.
“I just remember waking up to him touching me,” she shared. “And I didn’t know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep.”
Alleging the sexual abuse occurred as early as 8-years-old, she says she was 10-years-old when she finally told her mother – Andrea Kelly – about the alleged incidents. Andrea reportedly filed a “Jane Doe” complaint to law enforcement as a result.
“They [the authorities] couldn’t prosecute him because I waited too long. So at that point in my life, I felt like I said something for nothing,” Abi said.
As the clip gained steam, R. Kelly issued a statement via his attorney Jennifer Bonjean.
“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…. 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,” she said to the press on his behalf.
The news comes just a week after another clip from ‘Karma’ gained traction on the Web where Buku detailed her broken relationship with her superstar dad.
“Nobody wants to be the child of the father that is out here hurting women and children. He knows exactly why we can’t have the relationship that we would have liked to have with him,” she said before relaying, “I really feel like that one millisecond completely just changed my whole life. If my [future] son asks questions, I’m going to be as truthful as possible. And I will not be taking my son to prison to meet his grandfather.”
Episode 1 of ‘Karma’ is streaming now.