Viewers are about to get another R.Kelly documentary but this latest one will feature his daughter, Joanne Kelly. Known as Buku Abi, the 26-year-old shares her emotional journey regarding their fractured relationship, which has been significantly impacted by his status as a convicted sex offender. The trailer for the documentary teases that Joanne will reveal a “heartbreaking secret” in the upcoming doc.
“Nobody wants to be the child of a father who is out here hurting women and children,” she said in the trailer. “He knows exactly why we can’t have the relationship that we would have liked to have with him.” As the clip progresses, Joanne—who appears to be pregnant—reflects on her childhood perceptions of her father. “He was my everything,” she says tearfully. “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.”
The soon-to-be mother continues, “I really feel like that one millisecond completely just changed my whole life,” referencing Kelly’s conviction. She adds, “If my son asks questions, I’m going to be as truthful as possible. And I will not be taking my son to prison to meet his grandfather.”
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As previously reported, the R&B singer is incarcerated due to multiple convictions for sexual abuse and racketeering. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in 2022 in New York for federal racketeering and sex-trafficking convictions. However, Judge Harry Leinenweber ultimately ordered that he serve 20 years from the Chicago case concurrently with the New York sentence. He remains in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.
The trailer also features Kelly’s ex-wife and the mother of Joanne and her siblings, Drea Kelly. “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,” Drea, 50, remarks about Kelly. “What he did to me, he did to me. But you didn’t have to do it to my damn kids.”
R. Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey is set to premiere on the Tvei Network on October 11.