When Kehlani's former guitarist and ex-partner Javaughn Young-White filed for sole custody of their daughter Adeya this summer, he claimed the singer-songwriter was in a cult, among other things. Rumours based on the court documents also suggested that Kehlani had an "inappropriate relationship" with Adeya, which the artist has now denied.
Kehlani publicly addressed this particular accusation — one of the "absolutely monstrous allegations" that have been made — for the first time with a statement posted to Instagram last night (November 13), explaining how their retelling of a "past life" reading got twisted and taken out of context.
"i shared what i considered to be a lighthearted recap with my child's father, laughing at it & considering it something light & not to be taken serious," they wrote of the spiritual reading, sharing screenshots of the text conversation with Young-White that followed. Based on the text exchange, which dates back to October 2021, it seems as though the past life reading told Kehlani that Adeya had been her wife in another lifetime.
"to have those screenshots then doctored, the rest of messages left out, to make me seem like I consider myself to be in an inappropriate relationship with my DAUGHTER.. is the most heartbreak [sic] thing i've ever fucking heard," the musician continued. "i've been silent, i've taken the public beating. i've been addressing all of these things where i should, in COURT."
They clarified, "i do NOT, and have NEVER considered myself in any kind of inappropriate relationship with my child," adding in the caption that they "can't be silent about this issue anymore." See the full statement below.
Young-White's filing expressed concern over his name not being on his daughter's birth certificate due to Adeya being born through a home birth "orchestrated by what I would describe as a cult," which he later amended, claiming that he "never said I think Santeria is a sex cult." The initial complaint suggested that the cult leader had "numerous allegations of sexual assault" against women and young girls, and that Kehlani habitually left Adeya alone with strangers — including said cult leader — who would bathe her and sleep in bed with her.