Current:Home > reviewsPredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:R. Kelly's daughter Buku Abi claims singer father sexually assaulted her as a child -RiskWatch
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:R. Kelly's daughter Buku Abi claims singer father sexually assaulted her as a child
Poinbank View
Date:2025-04-08 15:37:49
R. Kelly's daughter Buku Abi claims in a new two-part documentary series that her father molested her as a child.
Abi,PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center whom Kelly shares with ex-wife Andrea "Drea" Kelly, detailed her alleged sexual abuse in an episode of the "Karma: A Daughter's Journey" series.
"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," Abi, whose legal name is Joann Kelly, says in the documentary. Abi added that she "was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom."
She continued: "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 that "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."
In a statement to People magazine, 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 & 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."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
USA TODAY reached out to reps for R. Kelly and the documentary for comment.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the imprisoned former R&B superstar's appeal of his 2022 federal conviction on charges involving child pornography and luring underage girls to have sex with him, one of two cases in which he was found guilty of sex crimes. Kelly, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, was acquitted of seven other charges that included obstruction of justice and conspiracy to receive child pornography.
Buku Abi was 'a different person' after alleged abuse
In the series, Abi goes in depth with disturbing details about the alleged sexual abuse, saying the alleged instance happened when she was 8 or 9.
"I just remember waking up to him touching me," she tearfully recalls. "And I didn’t know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep." She added that "from that moment on, I was a different person."
Abi says, "It was hard to accept that it happened" and later she had to tell her mom. The news "completely broke her heart" she says about mom Drea Kelly.
Abi is one of the embattled artist's three children with ex-wife Drea Kelly; the two were married from 1996 to 2009.
In 2019, the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer sparked a controversy when he shared a video to Instagram and Twitter, singing and telling his estranged daughter, "Happy birthday baby. Daddy loves you. I love you, no matter what, I love you so much."
R. Kelly criticized for 'shamelessly'singing 'Happy Birthday' to estranged daughter
Abi started using a different name to separate herself from her father's last name and previously took to social media in January 2019 to publicly condemn Kelly, calling him a "monster" and noting that "it has been years since my siblings and I have seen or have spoken to him." Abi publicly addressed her relationship with her father amid damning allegations against her father that were highlighted in Lifetime's "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries.
"R. Kelly's Karma: A Daughter's Journey" is currently streaming on TVEI Streaming Network.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributing: Maeve McDermott, Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY; John Kruzel, Reuters
veryGood! (8161)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Olympic organizers unveil strategy for using artificial intelligence in sports
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton can be disciplined for suit to overturn 2020 election, court says
- Coco Gauff vs Caitlin Clark? Tennis star says she would love to go head-to-head vs. Clark
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic book series author, reveals aggressive brain cancer
- Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula explores selling non-controlling, minority stake in franchise
- New York closing in on $237B state budget with plans on housing, migrants, bootleg pot shops
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- The most Taylor Swift song ever: 'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' (track 13 on 'TTPD')
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Netflix to stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers in 2025
- House speaker says he won't back change to rule that allows single member to call for his ouster
- Meta's newest AI-powered chatbots show off impressive features and bizarre behavior
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Orlando Bloom says Katy Perry 'demands that I evolve' as a person: 'I wouldn't change it'
- Meta's newest AI-powered chatbots show off impressive features and bizarre behavior
- Latest version of House TikTok bill gets crucial support in Senate
Recommendation
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Lionel Messi is healthy again. Inter Miami plans to keep him that way for Copa América 2024
Tesla recalling nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks because accelerator pedal can get stuck
Look what you made her do: Taylor Swift is an American icon, regardless of what you think
Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
Taylor Swift Proves Travis Kelce Is the MVP of Her Heart in These Tortured Poets Department Songs
House GOP's aid bills for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan advance — with Democrats' help
Too hot for a lizard? Climate change quickens the pace of extinction