Buku Abi, the daughter of R. Kelly, has opened up about her struggles with mental health and multiple suicide attempts stemming from her father's alleged sexual abuse during her childhood. In the two-episode documentary Karma: A Daughter’s Journey on TVEI Streaming Network, the 26-year-old shared that the abuse occurred when she was around eight or nine years old.
Abi disclosed that she first reported the alleged abuse to her mother, Andrea Kelly, in 2009 when she was about 10 years old. R. Kelly is currently serving a 31-year sentence in a federal prison in North Carolina after being convicted on multiple child sexual abuse charges.
In the documentary, Abi revealed how her father’s actions led her to a mental health crisis, stating, "For a long time I was in a really hard space mentally," which resulted in her being hospitalized for suicidal thoughts. "I hit a point in my life where multiple times, I had tried to take my own life," she confessed.
She recounted a pivotal moment when she broke down in the car with her mother on the way to school, leading to her being checked into a hospital for two-and-a-half weeks. "I was on really hard suicide watch," she said, emphasizing the gravity of her situation.
Abi expressed deep guilt over the emotional toll her struggles had on her younger siblings, Jaah and Robert Jr. She reflected on how her family's concern heightened her own struggles, stating, "Waking up and not knowing, is my sister going to be alive?"
The impact of her father's alleged abuse shattered Abi's perception of him, leading her to a place where she found it difficult to accept the reality of the situation. "I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom," she admitted.
R. Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, has denied the allegations, stating that previous investigations into similar claims were unfounded and criticizing the filmmakers for not reaching out to Kelly for his side of the story.
Despite his previous acquittal in 2008 on child pornography charges, R. Kelly was later convicted in 2021 on nine charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, as well as additional charges in a federal trial in Chicago.