The daughter of a convicted R&B star says he sexually abused her

R. Kelly’s daughter has come forward and stated that her father sexually abused her as a child.

Buku Abi, née Joanne Kelly, made these claims in a new TVEI documentary series “R. Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Story,” according to USA Today and Entertainment Weekly.

“It was really difficult. He was my everything,” said Abi, 26, in the first episode of the two-part documentary. “For a long time I didn’t even want to believe it happened. I didn’t know he would hurt me even if he was a bad person.”

In the series, Abi says the first molestation happened when she was about 8 or 9 years old.

“I just remember waking up to him touching me,” she said, according to USA Today. “And I didn’t know what to do, so I just laid there and pretended to sleep,” adding, “From that moment on, I was a different person.”

Abi said she spent time in a mental institution and attempted suicide several times as a result of the abuse.

Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s attorney, said in a statement to People: “Mr. Kelly vehemently denies these allegations. His ex-wife made the same claim years ago, which was investigated by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and found to be unfounded. … And the ‘filmmakers,’ whoever they are, have not contacted Mr. Kelly or his team to even allow him to deny these hurtful allegations.”

Kelly, 57, is currently in federal prison after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in 2022. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Chicago in 2023 for child pornography and luring minors for sex.

Abi publicly condemned her father in 2019, calling him a “monster” and saying it had been years since she and her siblings had spoken to him.