Joanne Kelly has pledged to shield her unborn child from her father R. Kelly’s troubled legacy, stating she won’t take her son to visit his grandfather behind bars.
In her upcoming documentary “R. Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,” Kelly reflected on both her past relationship with her father and their current estrangement following his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
“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,” she firmly stated.
The former music mogul’s fall from grace presents a complex family dilemma as Joanne, once describing R. Kelly as “my everything,” now grapples with the grim reality of his actions.
For years, Joanne struggled to accept the accusations against her father, R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30-year sentence at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.
“For a long time, I didn’t even want to believe that it happened,” she revealed, reflecting on the anguish of being the daughter of a man found guilty of harming women and minors.
Alongside his existing sentence, the R&B artist was dealt an additional 20-year sentence in 2023 for child sex offenses, including creating child pornography and attempting to lure a minor for sexual acts.
However, 19 of those years will run concurrently with his previous sentence.
Joanne’s siblings, Jaah Kelly and Robert Kelly Jr. appear in the documentary and wrestle with their father’s tarnished reputation.