R. Kelly is trending again, and this time, it’s because his daughter Joann Kelly, also known as Buku Abi, spoke out about her father in an upcoming documentary called R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey.
Joann alludes to her father doing something inappropriate in a clip from the upcoming documentary. The documentary concerns R. Kelly’s past and how the aftermath impacts his loved ones.
“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. I really feel like that one millisecond completely just changed my whole life,” she said in the documentary.
The documentary also includes intimate interviews with Kelly’s other children, Jaah and Robert Kelly Jr., and their mother, Drea Kelly.
Joann, who is now a mother, also discussed what she plans to tell her about his grandfather in the future.
“If my son asks questions, I am going to be as truthful as possible, but I will not be taking my son to a prison to meet his grandfather,” she said.
In terms of what the documentary will entail, according to a summary: “With each revelation, viewers are taken on a painful journey of betrayal, trauma, and survival as Joann seeks to reclaim her voice and identity in the aftermath of her father’s sins. In *R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey*, the question is no longer just about what R. Kelly did—but about the lives forever scarred by his actions.”
This is the first time Joann has publicly spoken about her experience with her father since the explosive ordeal took place, although she denounced his actions via Instagram and reiterated that she didn’t have a relationship with her estranged father in 2019.
“Anyone that knows me personally or has been following me throughout the years knows that I do not have a relationship with my father. Nor do I speak on him or on his behalf,” Abi said in the Instagram post in 2019. “My mother, siblings and I would never condone, support or be a part of ANYTHING negative he has done and or continues to do in his life.”
The singer will be spending 31 years in prison after being convicted of child pornography, racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in June 2022. He is serving his sentence in North Carolina and is not expected to be released until December 2045.