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Kehlani’s Custody Battle and ‘Cult’ Allegations, Explained

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Vulture.com 
Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

It’s a confusing time to be a Kehlani fan who isn’t super online. Since early August, claims and statements have been made by or about the singer on a near-daily basis, oftentimes via temporary Instagram Stories or social-media accounts that are now private or deactivated. At the center of the mess is Kehlani’s ongoing custody battle with Javaughn Young-White, the father of their 5-year-old daughter, Adeya. In a July 24 filing in the Los Angeles County Superior Court asking for full custody, Young-White accused Kehlani of leaving Adeya in the care of members of a “cult” including a leader he claimed “has numerous accusations of committing sexual assault against women and young girls.” After TMZ reported on this initial court filing in August, Young-White stated that he never said the group “was a sex cult” and walked back his allegations against the leader. However, he maintained that he is concerned about Adeya’s well-being, and said he plans to file an amended legal complaint. Young-White has also accused Kehlani of “framing her abuse” as his; Kehlani has alleged that Young-White had been abusive, and was granted a temporary restraining order against him on August 9. Meanwhile, the legal drama has also been accompanied by increased attention on Kehlani’s behavior in other relationships and friendships. Listening to her new While We Wait 2 mixtape and need to know more context ahead of her upcoming tour? Catch up on the major developments below.

Who is Javaughn Young-White?

He is Kehlani’s ex and former guitarist, and also the younger brother of comedian Jaboukie Young-White. Kehlani and Javaughn Young-White had a daughter, Adeya, together in 2019. Kehlani previously shared on Queen Radio that she “was lucky to find a partner who was a bisexual male,” and said she’d planned to get pregnant while on a break from touring. “We had a short time frame of having to actually have sex every day,” she said. “And we were excited that it didn’t start feeling like a chore.” Though his brother stated in a 2019 stand-up special that Young-White came out to him as bisexual, Young-White tweeted on August 4 from a since-deleted account that he doesn’t identify as gay or bisexual, further insinuating that Kehlani “lied on my sexuality to protect whatever lesbian identity was working for them at the time.” He also took issue with people viewing him as “a gay sperm donor” rather than a father.

What were Young-White’s initial allegations about Kehlani being in a “cult,” and why did he retract them?

In a July 24 filing obtained by Vulture, Young-White requested full custody of Adeya and child support. While he pointed to Kehlani’s busy schedule and the possibility that she has bipolar disorder (a diagnosis she has now publicly shared), the bulk of his concerns centered on Kehlani’s alleged involvement with what the filing describes as a “cult” led by Neto. This appears to be a reference to Ernesto “Neto” Quinoñez, who heads a nonprofit church in California with his wife, Naomi. (Kehlani has spoken about her 2020 introduction to an Afro-Caribbean religion called La Regla de Ocha, also known as Santeria or Lucumí, and previously identified Neto and Naomi as her godparents in the religion.)

In the complaint, Young-White claims he’s not listed on Adeya’s birth certificate because she was born through a home birth “orchestrated” by Neto’s group. Young-White learned Neto “has numerous accusations of committing sexual assault against women and young girls,” per the filing. When Kehlani is touring, Adeya is allegedly left alone in the care of “random adult members of the cult,” some of whom Young-White accused of drug abuse. Young-White said he was “physically restrained and threatened” by members in 2023 when he tried to intervene after discovering that Neto “performs ‘religious ceremonies’ on” Adeya while “no one is allowed to be in the room.” Young-White further claimed that he was kept away from his daughter because Neto had a vision that Young-White would kill her.

On August 5, 2024, TMZ published a piece about Young-White’s filing with a headline that claimed he feared his daughter was a “sex cult” victim. On August 6, Kehlani posted an Instagram Story statement calling recent reports “incredibly hurtful,” adding, “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. I also do not align with any of the allegations made against my former religious community that have been stated in the media.” That day, Young-White also posted a statement on his now-private Instagram account calling for TMZ to issue a retraction since he “never said that [he thinks] Santeria is a sex cult.” He claimed that a former legal representative submitted the filing without his approval, adding that it contains “general recollections” from an initial consultation as well as language that he regrets and didn’t okay. However, Young-White said he still has concerns regarding Adeya’s care, noting that an amended complaint would soon “illustrate the full range of my concern.”

Screenshots have circulated online that are allegedly of Instagram Story statements from Neto’s wife, Naomi. The statements describe a member who allegedly caused “harm” in the community, was asked to “seek spiritual growth elsewhere” almost a year ago, and then made up “lies” with their friends about Neto being a rapist and the group being a “demonic cult” that engaged in financial abuse and scamming. Young-White suggested in an August 9 Instagram post that his cult-related claims came secondhand from sources who “no longer align” with their allegations. “I deeply regret and apologize for any role I played in perpetuating these claims,” he wrote. “I hope Priest Neto, his family, and affected members of the church receive just restoration.” Neto then shared Young-White’s statement in a Facebook post. After mentioning an unnamed “ex-goddaughter,” Neto said he has dealt with “whispers” that he is a predator or abuser for ten months. “I have every intention of seeking restoration for my damages yet clearing my name from the false slander and allegations was paramount to me and my wife,” he said.

What did Kehlani allege about Young-White in the temporary restraining-order request?

In an August 8 filing obtained by Vulture, Kehlani asked for a domestic-violence restraining order to “protect our daughter from her father’s emotional abuse, neglect and to protect me from his abuse which includes being physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive towards me beginning when I was pregnant with Adeya.” According to Kehlani, Young-White is prone to apparent “periods of despair” and “tirades of uncontrollable anger and rage.” She alleges that Young-White threw a guitar at her during a fight when she was seven months pregnant, and flung his phone to the ground, where it smashed in front of Adeya, the day after her birth.

The request outlines an alleged pattern of Young-White disappearing for months, then returning and promising to be a better father. Kehlani said she has allowed him to stay on her property to try to help him. According to Kehlani, Young-White “self-medicates” by smoking marijuana every day — including in front of Adeya — and taking psychedelics. She said she asked him to leave her property in mid-June on a day when he allegedly “smashed through” her locked bedroom doors in a “fit of anger,” calling her names and claiming that she had “trapped” him with the birth of their daughter. “If Young-White is physically and mentally settled and not exposing Adeya to secondhand marijuana smoke or an unsafe environment,” Kehlani said, “I will of course foster their relationship as I have done since her birth.” As part of the request, which was granted, Kehlani submitted audio recordings of Young-White and handwritten entries from a diary she says he left in her back house this year.

Young-White has claimed in multiple Instagram Stories that Kehlani has a history of making up abuse allegations. He alleged, for example, that Kehlani lied about being raped by the person she cheated on her ex-girlfriend Kiara with. After Kehlani’s restraining-order request became public, he suggested that Kehlani was “framing her abuse” as his, alleging that she actually “busted through” her own doors. “Everything else I’ll address later,” Young-White said. “But I want all false accusations of abuse to REST. that is not normal to scream abuse when you don’t know what to do.”

Where does the custody battle stand now?

Kehlani currently has sole custody of Adeya. A judge granted Kehlani a temporary restraining order against Young-White on August 9, finding that there was a “risk” that he might take Adeya without permission due to a “history” of abusing Kehlani and “not cooperating with [Kehlani] in parenting.” The restraining order will expire at the end of a court hearing scheduled for September 3. Until then, Young-White has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from Kehlani and Adeya and not contact either of them. Young-White and Kehlani must also meet virtually with a court-appointed mediator on the morning of September 4, unless they reach a parenting agreement before then.

Why are people talking about Kehlani’s race?

Kehlani’s restraining-order request details an incident in which Young-White allegedly punched through the dashboard of her car and made “racist remarks,” saying she was “acting like a ‘white woman.’” (In the filing, Kehlani noted, “I am mixed race and this is sensitive to me because I am often ostracized based on race.”) Young-White has also claimed in Instagram Stories that he has “run” from Kehlani multiple times in his life and was retaliated against with “violence and anti-blackness” the moment he tried to “leave for good.” Additionally, the statements attributed to Neto’s wife suggest that people should consider whether they’re being persuaded to see “yet another man of color” as a “perpetrator of violence” instead of a “victim of lies and deceit at the hands of a racially ambiguous white person with resources and fame.”

What else have people brought up about Kehlani?

Rumors that Kehlani was in a short-lived marriage earlier this year have resurfaced amid increased scrutiny on the singer’s interpersonal relationships. Public records show that Kehlani married Mariel Gomerez, who works for Beyoncé’s Parkwood and solo A&R’d Renaissance, on April 20. Gomerez filed to annul the marriage on June 16, but voluntarily dismissed that request just a few days later on June 20. The dismissed case was then sealed to the public on July 30… but not before some gossip outlets had already shared what they claimed was Gomerez’s initial annulment request. Per photos posted by TheInfoSpot and MediaTakeOut, Gomerez alleged that Kehlani’s intentions behind the marriage were to “benefit” her career and promote her album Crash; that Gomerez believed Kehlani had been “Method acting” as a “character” they made up; and that Kehlani had cheated.

Kehlani has also faced allegations from her former fan and friend Kay Cotten, who claimed in a TikTok that she was “gang stalked” by Kehlani and her friends. Cotten, who said she related to aspects of Javaughn’s experience, claimed that Kehlani took an unusual interest in her while she was sick and on her deathbed, but that the friendship ended once she got better. (Cotten’s post is no longer public, but screenshots remain online, including at the 3:53 mark in this video by TikToker @kellieintheknow.) In an August 11 Instagram Story statement, Kehlani denied wrongdoing, shared her own recollection of events, and claimed that she has been and still is trying to handle this privately. In a follow-up Story, Kehlani wrote that her “silence” is a sign she focused on the matters surrounding her daughter. “i’m a mother first and foremost, and a person who believes in God,” she said. “this has all taught me lessons about discernment, privacy & focus. back to what’s important. i hope to see you on tour.”

Is Kehlani still touring this fall?

Despite all this legal and personal drama, yes. Kehlani’s Crash world tour, featuring FLO and Anycia as openers, is currently still scheduled to kick off on September 4 (a potentially eventful day; Kehlani and Young-White were ordered to virtually meet with a mediator that morning if they do not reach a parenting agreement by then). Before hitting the road, Kehlani also dropped the 14-track sequel mixtape While We Wait 2 on August 28.

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