Kehlani slammed the media’s description of her ex-partner Javaughn Young-White’s petition for custody of their 5-year-old daughter, Adeya, which claimed that the singer was in a “cult.”
In a statement posted to Instagram stories on Tuesday, Kehlani, who uses she/they pronouns, described the media’s description of Young-White’s claims in the filing as “incredibly hurtful, inaccurate, inappropriate, and simply untrue.”
In a separate statement also released on Tuesday, Young-White said that a “factually incorrect” version of his custody request was published by TMZ, and that he didn’t need to “paint an unfair image of my co-parent for my justifiable feelings to be respected by the court of law.”
The original court docs, reviewed by People and The Cut, included claims attributed to Young-White alleging that Kehlani was part of a cult whose leader had “numerous accusations of committing sexual assault” and that they had convinced the R&B performer to not allow him to see their child.
The filing also included allegations that Young-White found out the group’s leader was performing “religious ceremonies” on the child, and that Young-White had been “physically restrained and threatened by members of the ‘cult’” when he tried to pick up his daughter.
“I strongly deny any claims that I have put my child in harm’s way, or left my child alone with anyone deemed dangerous or unsafe,” Kehlani wrote in her statement. “I also do not align with any of the allegations made against my former religious community that have been stated in the media.”
Kehlani has previously opened up about practicing Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and Catholic elements. “My child and my commitment to motherhood have always been my sole driving forces in this life and will always remain so,” she added.
On Tuesday, Young-White stated he never said he thought Santeria was a sex cult and accused the TMZ article of having “sensationalised aspects of what was said while simultaneously breaching my confidentiality.” He added that the filing was “incomplete” and did not have his “authorisation by error of counsel.”
Young-White said that he is no longer represented by the “aforementioned counsel” and that there “will be an amended filing soon which will illustrate the full range of my concern.”
Kehlani ended her statement by saying she would be “taking space” for her and Adeya’s well-being and would handle the matter privately. “Thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy,” she wrote. “I will not be commenting further and will let the legal due process take place.”
From Rolling Stone US
