R. Kelly's Daughter Speaks Out About Her Father's Alleged Sexual Misconduct

Joann Kelly, otherwise known as Buku, teeters between loyalty and frustration when she expresses her feelings about the sexual allegations against her father.

R Kelly Daughter Expresses Frustration
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Image via Getty/Rick Kern

R Kelly Daughter Expresses Frustration

R. Kelly’s daughter is stuck between loyalty to her family, and glaring disagreement with her father’s behavior—making it all the more depressing how drastically the singer’s activities are affecting his children. According to TMZ, Joann Kelly—an artist otherwise known as Buku—says that “It’s hard…I feel terrible.”

R. Kelly has been facing the mounting consequences of his alleged deviant sexual behavior in the past week alone. As we previously reported, the singer has been accused of leading a sex cult in his Georgia mansion, with some of the girls allegedly underage. Last Monday, a 19-year-old woman claimed the singer had restrained and drugged her and gave her an unspecified STD. A few days later, his longtime attorney and assistant both resigned amid the increasing pressure. Today, we hear from Kelly’s daughter and her thoughts on the seemingly endless scandal.

“I don’t have much of a comment,” she said. “It’s very close to my heart. It’s just hard ‘cause it’s family matters, you know? But, overall it’s hard. I try not to speak about it too much, but…it is what it is. I feel terrible.” When asked if she and her father had a close relationship, Buku stayed admirably loyal. “I mean, we’re family, so…we’re gonna deal with each other.” 

As you can tell, Joanne Kelly is hesitant to throw her father under the bus—no matter how wild and despicable the recent allegations are. While siding with an alleged sex abuser is largely frowned upon, it’s difficult to blame a daughter who loves her father. It’s in between this loving daughter’s loyalty and value of family, and her apparent sadness and frustration with her father’s behavior, that shows us just how unfair and callous R. Kelly is by dumping this mess peripherally onto his family. 

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