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In a heartbreaking and deeply personal revelation, Buku Abi, the daughter of disgraced singer R. Kelly, has come forward in a new two-part documentary on the TVEI streaming network titled Karma: A Daughter’s Journey. Abi, born Joann Kelly, shared her harrowing experience of being sexually abused by her father as a child, leading to years of emotional torment and multiple suicide attempts.
The documentary, which aired last week, features Abi speaking candidly about the traumatic events that shattered her family and her sense of self. The Daily Mail reports that Abi’s alleged abuse at the hands of her father triggered severe depression, ultimately leading her to contemplate taking her own life on multiple occasions.
“For a long time, I was in a really hard space mentally, and so I ended up in a mental hospital, a psych ward, whatever you want to call it,” Abi admitted during the series. “I hit a point in my life where, multiple times, I had tried to take my own life.”
Abi revealed that her emotional breakdown finally came to light when she confided in her mother, Andrea Kelly, while being driven to school. Overcome with emotion, she broke down in tears, confessing her deep mental anguish to her mother, who immediately checked her into a mental hospital. Abi stayed under close observation for two-and-a-half weeks, followed by months of outpatient care.
“I was on really hard suicide watch. And then for two, three months after that, I was in outpatient, basically, so I had to go there every day,” Abi explained, detailing the intensity of her mental health struggles.
The documentary captures not just Abi’s story but also the impact her mental health had on her younger siblings, Jaah and Robert Jr., now 23 and 22. In one of the most emotional moments of the series, Robert Jr. described the fear of not knowing whether his sister would survive each day. “That was definitely scary. Waking up and not knowing, is my sister going to be alive?” he said, reflecting on the uncertainty that haunted their household.
Abi also recounted a particularly raw moment when she and her mother visited a Target store, and Andrea Kelly noticed fresh self-harm scars on her daughter’s body. “I just got to a point where I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care if I lived or died. I didn’t care about what happened to me,” Abi shared. Her mother, sensing the depth of Abi’s pain, immediately expressed concern, and it was then that Abi opened up about the severity of her mental state, telling her mother, “I don’t think I’m OK. I don’t think that I can do this. I don’t think that I’m going to make it through to live out the rest of my life.”
Throughout the documentary, Abi refrains from detailing the specific abuse she allegedly suffered at her father’s hands, but she makes it clear that it irrevocably damaged her perception of him. “I didn’t know that even if he was a bad person that he would do something to me,” she said, explaining the deep conflict she felt in coming to terms with her father’s actions. For years, Abi was too scared to tell anyone about what had happened, even her own mother.
While Abi did not delve into explicit details of her trauma, she made her stance on her father’s current imprisonment clear. “Prison is a well-suited place for him to be,” she stated, adding that this conclusion came from her own “personal experience” with him.
R. Kelly, once one of the biggest names in R&B, has been convicted of multiple charges, including sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and racketeering. His ongoing legal troubles, compounded by the emotional testimonies from his victims, have revealed a disturbing pattern of abuse that spanned decades. Abi’s testimony in Karma: A Daughter’s Journey adds yet another layer to the horrifying allegations against the singer, showing how his actions have irreparably damaged not only his victims but also his own family.
Abi’s brave decision to speak out about her abuse and mental health struggles provides a crucial reminder of the lasting impact of trauma and the importance of seeking help. Her journey, though marked by unimaginable pain, is also one of resilience and survival.
Watch below:
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