Buku Abi, the estranged daughter of disgraced R&B star R Kelly, has come forward with allegations of childhood sexual abuse by her father in a new documentary, R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey. This marks the first time Abi, 26, has publicly accused her father of abuse, detailing incidents she says occurred in Illinois during the early 2000s.
In the documentary, Abi, born Joanne Kelly, recounted the trauma she says she endured as a child, explaining how her father’s actions deeply affected her. “He was my everything,” she said, adding that for years, she struggled to accept that her father could harm her. “I was too scared to tell anybody, too scared to tell my mom.”
Abi shared painful details of the alleged abuse, explaining how she would wake up to her father touching her. “I didn’t know what to do, so I just pretended to be asleep,” she revealed. After finally telling her mother, Drea Kelly, Abi said they filed a complaint with the police under the pseudonym “Jane Doe.” However, legal action was not taken due to the delay in reporting the abuse.
The emotional toll of the abuse, Abi said, led her to contemplate suicide. “I didn’t care if I lived or died,” she admitted, describing how the experience robbed her of her happiness and sense of self.
R Kelly’s legal team, led by attorney Jennifer Bonjean, has denied the allegations. Bonjean pointed out that similar claims were investigated by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and found to be “unfounded.” She also criticized the filmmakers for not reaching out to Kelly for his side of the story.
R Kelly is currently serving a 31-year sentence for child sex abuse, sex trafficking, and racketeering. He was convicted in 2021 and later sentenced to an additional 20 years in 2023 for charges related to child pornography and the enticement of minors.
