Buku Abi, the daughter of R. Kelly, is speaking out for the first time about the alleged abuse she experienced as a child from her father. In the new two-part documentary titled Karma: A Daughter’s Journey, which premiered today, it is claimed that she reported the abuse to her mother, Andrea, in 2009 when she was just 10 years old.
In the documentary, Buku, now 26, shares her feelings about the situation. She explains, “He was my everything. For a long time, I didn’t want to believe it happened. I didn’t think he could do something like that to me.” She admits she was too scared to tell anyone, including her mom.
While Buku doesn’t go into specific details about the abuse in the first episode, she expresses that she believes jail is the right place for her father, who is now 57, based on her own experiences. She reflects on how the abuse changed her life, saying it took away her joy and her sense of self. After she confided in her mother, she and her siblings stopped visiting their father, and she still struggles with the impact of what happened.
The episode also discusses why many victims of child sexual abuse wait years or even decades to speak out about their experiences.
In the second episode, Buku shares more details about the alleged abuse, recalling that it started when she was around 8 or 9 years old. “I just remember waking up to him touching me,” she says, crying. “I didn’t know what to do, so I pretended to be asleep.” She later told her mother, and they filed a police report as “Jane Doe,” but unfortunately, they were unable to prosecute R. Kelly due to the time that had passed. This left her feeling as though her disclosure was in vain.
R. Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, responded to the allegations, stating that Mr. Kelly denies them and that similar claims were previously investigated and found to be unfounded. She noted that the filmmakers did not reach out for his side of the story.
In February 2023, R. Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison for charges related to child pornography and enticing minors for sex. This follows a 30-year sentence he received the previous year for racketeering and sex trafficking. He is currently serving concurrent sentences and will be eligible for release in 2045. He was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008 after facing allegations for many years.
Karma: A Daughter’s Journey explores how R. Kelly’s family is coping with his arrest and sentencing, especially as Buku prepares to become a mother herself. The documentary also features Andrea, R. Kelly’s ex-wife, who has accused him of abuse, along with their children, Jaah and Robert Jr., and Andrea’s parents.
In the first episode, Andrea shares her emotional story of leaving R. Kelly with her three children and moving in with her father, whom the children had never met due to R. Kelly’s controlling nature.
Buku talks about the challenges of living in her father’s shadow and reveals that she struggled with suicidal thoughts. She recalls a moment in Target when her mother noticed her self-harm marks and immediately became concerned. This prompted Buku to finally admit, “I don’t think I’m OK. I don’t think I can do this.”
All the interviewees in the documentary express satisfaction with R. Kelly’s lengthy prison sentence. Robert Jr. states, “If you don’t want to go to jail, don’t do things that get you locked up,” while Jaah adds, “You make your bed, you lay in it.”
Karma: A Daughter’s Journey is now streaming on TVEI Streaming Network.
