Current:Home > ContactR. Kelly's Daughter Joann Kelly to Share a "Heartbreaking Secret" in Upcoming Documentary -ProfitPioneers Hub
R. Kelly's Daughter Joann Kelly to Share a "Heartbreaking Secret" in Upcoming Documentary
View
Date:2025-04-13 06:23:44
R. Kelly's estranged daughter has been carrying a heartbreaking childhood secret.
In a new documentary, Joann Kelly, who also goes by the name Buku Abi, shares details about her experience growing up with the R&B singer, who is serving a more than 30-year prison sentence for sex crimes against underage girls.
"He was my everything for a long time," Joann, who was not named as one of the victims during Kelly's 2021 trial, says in the TVEI Network's R. Kelly's Karma: A Daughter's Journey, as seen in a trailer released Sept. 29. "I didn't even want to believe it happened."
The 26-year-old continued, "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."
According to TVEI, in the documentary, Kelly's daughter "bravely reveals a heartbreaking secret that shattered her childhood."
Joann, who appeared to be pregnant while filming the documentary, vowed to be open about her experiences with her son and keep him away from the "I Believe I Can Fly" singer.
"If my son asks questions I'm going to be as truthful as possible," she said, "but I would not be taking my son to a prison to meet his grandfather."
Kelly will be 78 when he eligible for release from prison in 2045. In April, a federal appeals court upheld his convictions on child pornography and enticement charges, more than 18 months after the conclusion of his trial in Chicago, WTTW reported.
Joann's mother, Kelly’s ex-wife Drea Kelly, also appears in the documentary. "Just because you’re not a good husband, doesn't mean you can’t be a good father. And the fact that he didn’t even try," the 50-year-old said in the trailer. "What he did to me, he did to me. But you didn’t have to do it to my damn kids."
In 2019, Joann spoke out about her father after the release of the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly, which chronicled allegations of abuse and pedophilia that others made about the singer.
The project preceded an investigation against Kelly that helped lead to his 2022 conviction of racketeering and sex trafficking, and a year later, convictions for felony sexual exploitation of a child, enticement of a female, and possession of material containing child pornography.
"The same monster you all confronting me about is my father," Joann wrote on her Instagram Story at the time. "I am well aware of who and what he is. I grew up in that house. My choice to not speak on him and what he does is for my peace of mind. My emotional state. And for MY healing. I have to do & move in a manner that is best for me."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (83)
Related
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Mike Johnson is the new speaker of the House. Here's what happens next.
- Mom convicted of killing kids in Idaho will be sent to Arizona to face murder conspiracy charges
- 5 found shot to death at southeast North Carolina home, sheriff says
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Victim's sister asks Texas not to execute her brother's killer
- DWTS’ Sharna Burgess Speaks Out on “Hurt” of Being Excluded From Len Goodman Tribute
- Kaley Cuoco Shares How Her Approach to Parenthood Differs From Tom Pelphrey
- How breaking emerged from battles in the burning Bronx to the Paris Olympics stage
- Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown, charged with killing mother, has been denied release
Ranking
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Israel accuses UN chief of justifying terrorism for saying Hamas attack ‘didn’t happen in a vacuum’
- Have student loans? Want free pizza? Dominos is giving away $1 million worth of pies.
- White House wants more than $23 billion from Congress to respond to natural disasters
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- White House dinner for Australia offers comfort food, instrumental tunes in nod to Israel-Hamas war
- Israeli hostage released by Hamas, Yocheved Lifshitz, talks about ordeal, and why she shook her captor's hand
- NHL rescinds ban on rainbow-colored Pride tape, allowing players to use it on the ice this season
Recommendation
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Strikers have shut down a vital Great Lakes shipping artery for days, and negotiations are looming
Book excerpt: Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Medical school on Cherokee Reservation will soon send doctors to tribal and rural areas
A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
Is Victor Wembanyama NBA's next big thing? How his stats stack up with the league's best
Pakistan’s ex-leader Nawaz Sharif regains right to appeal convictions, opening a path to election
Book excerpt: Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain