(NewsNation) — Jennifer Bonjean, R. Kelly’s attorney, says her client is “very upset” and denies his daughter’s sexual abuse claims.
Buku Abi, also known as Joanne Kelly, alleged that her father abused her during her childhood. She came forward with the accusations in TVEI Network’s two-part documentary titled “R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,” which features “raw and emotional” interviews with Joanne, her siblings and their mother, Drea Kelly.
“He was my everything. 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,” Joanne said in the documentary. “I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.”
During an exclusive appearance on NewsNation’s “Banfield,” Bonjean responded to the abuse claims on behalf of R. Kelly.
“He’s probably the most highly investigated individual on the planet when it comes to these kinds of claims,” Bonjean said. “Why it’s coming back up, I don’t really know. He certainly denies it. … I can assure you that prosecutors would have loved to put his daughter on the stand to accuse him in the many prosecutions they indicted him for.”
“Just because someone says it’s true and people cry, doesn’t mean it has merit,” Bonjean added. R. Kelly has yet decide if he’ll take any legal action.