Joann Kelly, also known as Buku Abi, is ready to tell her story in an upcoming documentary called, R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey.
In the film, Joann reveals the untold and “heartbreaking secret” of her childhood as the daughter of one of music’s most notorious figures, R. Kelly.
Through emotional interviews with her siblings Jaah and Robert Kelly Jr., as well as their mother, Drea Kelly, Joann shares the dark reality of growing up in the shadow of Kelly’s public scandals.
In the trailer of the documentary, she tearfully admits, “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 that he would do something to me. I really feel like that one millisecond completely just changed my whole life.”
She also speaks about how she plans to approach her past with her own child. “If my son asks questions, i am going to be as truthful as possible, but i will not be taking my son to a prison to meet his grandfather.”
The film raises difficult questions—not only about R. Kelly’s well-documented criminal acts but also about the lives forever affected by his actions.
According to a summary of the film, “With each revelation, viewers are taken on a painful journey of betrayal, trauma, and survival as Joanne seeks to reclaim her voice and identity in the aftermath of her father’s sins. In *R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey*, the question is no longer just about what R. Kelly did—but about the lives forever scarred by his actions.”
R. Kelly, who was convicted of racketeering and trafficking in 2022, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence in North Carolina and is not expected to be released until December 2045.
R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey will premiere on October 11th on the TVEI Network.
