R. Kelly’s daughter breaks her silence & speaks out against 'terrible' father
R. Kelly’s daughter Buku Abi is speaking out about her father.
Abi, real name Joann Lee Kelly, took to Instagram to respond to the backlash and legal allegations swirling in the wake of Lifetime’s docuseries Surviving R. Kelly. In her lengthy post, the 21-year-old condemned the singer.
“Buku here. I just want to say a few things,” she began. “Before I start I just want it to be known that I am speaking from the heart, nothing I say is to hurt ANY party reading or affected by this. To the people that I feel I should be speaking up against everything that is going on right now, I just want you all to understand that devastated is an understatement for all that I feel currently. I do apologize for my silence to all this happening comes off as careless. That is my last intention.”
She went on explain that she and Kelly have had nothing resembling a relationship in recent years.
“Anyone who know me personally or has been following me through out the years knows that I do not have a relationship with my father. Nor do I speak on him or his behalf. I also am not fond of deal thing with my personal issues or personal life experience through social media but, I feel things are starting to get out of hand.”
“Going through all I have gone through in my life, I would never want anyone to feel the pain I have felt,” she added. “Reminders of how terrible my father is, and how we should be speaking against him. Rude comments about my family, fabricating me, my siblings & my mother’s ‘part.’”
She then alludes to only having a relationship with her father when they were living with her mother, Andrea Lee.
“The same monster you all confronting me about is my father. I am well aware of who and what he is. I grew up in that house.”
Abi concluded her post by sharing how challenging the past year has been for her, as rumors and accusations have only increased about the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer.
“This past year has been really difficult, all the love and support you all continue to show is why we keep going.”
Abi's mother, Andrea, previous shared a statement in response to the series as well, hinting at previous attempts by Kelly to silence her.
"Thank God for his grace, guidance, love AND deliverance," Andrea captioned an article about the side effects of domestic abuse. "I celebrate the women I am TODAY! Though some want [to] 'expose' the pain filled, scared, abused women I was.....STOP! I AM No longer afraid. No longer willing to silence my PAIN AND SUGARCOAT THE ABUSE I ENDURED because of how my abuser and his LEGAL TEAM were THREATENING to come against me if I 'didn’t choose wisely.'"
In the docuseries, dozens of women comment on a variety of sexual abuse allegations against Kelly. The program has led to swift rebukes from the music world and beyond, with artists like Lady Gaga apologizing for working with him.
Additionally, an arrest warrant was issued in Illinois for his ex-manager, James Mason, who allegedly threatened a family who claimed their daughter, Joycelyn Savage, was being held captive by the R&B singer, though, Savage has denied the allegations, according to CNN.
R. Kelly continues to maintain his innocence and he isn't taking these new allegations lying down. On Thursday, his lawyer, Steve Greenberg, pushed back against the singer's accusers, and the #MeToo movement, in a new interview.
"It's a bunch of disgruntled people looking for their 15 minutes of TMZ fame," Greenberg told CBS News. "I believe that all of these women did exactly what they wanted to do. Because now there's some hashtag, that's not going to change."
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