Javaughn Young-White is explaining how his concerns for his daughter got so misinterpreted in his petition for custody.
Source: Jamie Squire / Getty
After making headlines with his initial filing for custody of his 5-year-old daughter Adeya, whom he shares with Kehlani, Javaughn is further clarifying his concerns to set the record straight. This comes after he issued a statement on his Instagram page slamming TMZ for their initial reports, which Young-White criticized for being “sensationalized.”
Jaboukie Young-White and Javaughn Young-White/ Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty
On August 9, the guitarist posted a follow-up statement to his Instagram, which has since been made private. Within the lengthy post, PEOPLE reports that Young-White claims that the initial custody filing was “submitted without my approval by my former representation.”
“They were filed with choice language I didn’t okay. I regret they were included,” he wrote.
He also admits to being misinformed about happenings within the church regarding Kehlani’s previous religion, Regla de Ocha.
“Before filing, the information regarding Priest Neto and his church was circulated to me by parties of priority,” Javaughn continued. “I am now aware that these parties were attempting to use allegations and vocabulary to escalate their own disputes within the church. As of today, these parties no longer align with their allegations. Understandably, I was not aware of this at the time.”
“When I was presented with the allegations against Neto and his church, my daughter was no longer affiliated,” he wrote. “However, I was still deeply distressed about the direct care of my child. From my perspective, I was being told the consequences of alarming decision-making that could have ended quite differently. I advocated for my child’s agency as I would about any sudden lifestyle shift or new parental custodians. I could not stop anything due to the intentional, ongoing state of my parental custody and documentation. I was disregarded.”
Young-White went on to claim that his previous counsel moved forward with the filing despite the fact that it was “never approved for submission.”
“To be clear: the explicit wording of this account did not have my approval either,” Young-White claimed. “There are other concerns that encourage me to prioritize issues of custody and documentation. As a father, I could never have anticipated that such serious allegations would be so careless. I still believe my alarm was proportionate to the information I received from the trusted parties. However, I deeply regret and apologize for any role I played in perpetuating these claims. I hope Priest Neto, his family, and affected members of the church receive just restoration.”
He concluded: “I am looking forward to continuing the advocacy of my child’s wellbeing.”
Unfortunately for Kehlani, though her ex has done a lot to retract his previous claims, the singer is still facing some serious allegations from other people in their life.
A former friend of the artist, Kayla Cotten, took to social media to share her experience with Kehlani, which she says happened while she was on her “deathbed.” She accuses the singer of not only harassing her but “gang stalking” her, having their friends reach out and keep tabs on Kayla when they weren’t in contact.
Another of Kehlani’s former friends, Nina, helped spread the word about Kayla’s allegations, posting videos to Instagram about her experiences with the singer.
Kehlani ended up responding to Kayla’s allegations with a statement, saying, “While I already have my head down, i am being kicked by an old friend.”
She goes on to say that she met Kayla during a virtual meet and greet, saying it was Cotten’s “dying wish” to meet her. The two then “stayed in contact nearly every day,” during which Kehlani says she came to multiple shows and “made sure my team took care of her every single time.”
Eventually, as Kehlani focused on finishing her album, she wasn’t as responsive to Kayla, who she says was moved out of hospice care, which allegedly led to Cotten being vindictive and spreading information to Kehlani’s most recent ex.
In response to the “gang stalking” allegations, the singer insists, “My friends addressing the harm she caused, privately, with her, is not harassment or ‘gang stalking.’”
You can read Kehlani’s full statement down below: