Kehlani and Javaughn Young-White have come together to shut down the media frenzy surrounding their custody battle.
Source: Kelly Sullivan / Getty
Earlier this week, the father of Kehlani’s child, Javaughn Young-White, filed a paternity petition while seeking full custody of their 5-year-old daughter, Adeya Nomi.
As reported by TMZ on Monday, Javaughn claimed Kehlani has been mixed up with a cult for the past few years, according to court documents obtained by the outlet, which he says is influencing how the singer raises their daughter. Javaughn went on to allege that the cult leader has multiple sexual assault accusations, which makes him fearful that their daughter could be at risk of abuse if the court doesn’t intervene.
Young-White says that the cult leader has such an influence on Kehlani that he’s convinced her Javaughn is a threat to Adeya, causing the singer to keep him from seeing his daughter.
Javaughn also went on to make some even more surprising claims on social media, responding to fans on X who called him “weird” for publicly airing out these custody issues.
“Mfs stay thinking im hating or just being catty and messy and it’s like nah bro,” he allegedly tweeted about his issues with Kehlani before seemingly deactivating his account. “DOZENS of people have been affected by whatever monstrosity shorty got going on and it leaves mfs actively traumatized actually n**** omg. Down to her whole spiritual house she got kicked out of.”
One user replied to this tweet, writing, “idk i think it’s weird to air the mother of your child out like this but that’s just me.”
“Yeah it’s weird to try and get me killed too but I digress,” Young-White seemingly replied.
But, on Tuesday evening, Javaughn issued a statement on Instagram, slamming TMZ’s reporting on the situation.
“I never said that I think Santeria is a sex cult,” he began in his lengthy post. “Nor did I say that my daughter is in a sex cult. That’s factually incorrect and I think it’s disgusting that TMZ would exploit a child’s image like that…Personally, I would love for TMZ to justify to me, the father, how they came up with that narrative.”
Young-White continued, “The TMZ article sensationalized aspects of what was said while simultaneously breaching my confidentiality…There will be an amended filing soon which will illustrate the full range of my concern.”
“For now, I am hoping to clear the discrepancies made by TMZ,” Javaughn concluded. “I hope to see a formal retraction and apology.”
Kehlani reposted Young-White’s statement to her Instagram Story after issuing her own response, insisting she would never put her daughter in harm’s way.
“What has been published in the media over the past 24 hours is incredibly hurtful, inaccurate, inappropriate, and simply untrue,” she began, going on to say they wanted to take the time to respond to these claims “from a calm and considered space rather than a reactive one.”
“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,” the singer added.
Kehlani added that she has always made sure Adeya remained “protected and safe at all times” and that “commitment to motherhood” has been her “sole driving force in this life.”
The star concluded by saying they want this “private” and “familial” legal battle to be handled accordingly as she takes space for her “personal well-being” and the well-being of their daughter.
