Buku Abi has seemingly responded to the media attention surrounding R. Kelly’s birthday video message to her earlier this week. Buku requested that no one, including her father, refers to her by “Joann.”
“My name is BUKU ABI. Not Joann, not dojo, not ‘[space] daughter,'” Buku insisted. “Nothing besides Buku will work for me. If you don’t know me personally, please don’t call me anything but Buku or Buku Abi.”
While Buku didn’t address anyone directly, the message was likely in reference to R. Kelly’s video in which he used Buku’s government name, Joann, in his birthday wish.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Buku Abi has emerged on social media to address the controversy surrounding her father. In Jan. 2019, Buku released a statement amid Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries, referring to him as a “monster.” During his viral interview with Gayle King, Kelly suggested that Buku had been manipulated by his ex-wife, Drea Kelly, into believing he was a bad person.
Check out Buku Abi’s message below.
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#RKelly’s daughter has something to say amid her father’s birthday wishes to her 👀😩