daughter has made a serious accusation against the embattled R&B singer, alleging that he sexually abused her when she was a child.
The claims were revealed in a new two-part documentary, “Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,” which aired on TVEI Network.
Abi, who is now 26, describes the alleged abuse in the documentary, claiming it took place when she was 8 or 9 years old. She recounts waking up to find her father touching her and pretending to be asleep out of fear. The daughter of the Grammy Award-winning artist says the incident left her deeply traumatized.
“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, he would do something to me,” Abi, identified as Joanne Kelly in the film, shared. She also discussed how the fe ar and confusion kept her silent for years, adding, “I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.”
Abi disclosed the alleged abuse to her mother, Andrea Kelly, in 2009, leading them to file a complaint under the name “Jane Doe.” However, the case could not move forward as the statute of limitations had expired. Andrea, who was married to R. Kelly at the time, also appears in the documentary, voicing support for her daughter’s account and criticizing her former husband.
