Kehlani’s Ex Javaughn Young-White Retracts Claims in His Custody Filing, Says He Didn’t Approve ‘Explicit Wording’
Kehlani‘s ex-partner Javaughn Young-White has posted a statement retracting claims made in his July filing for full custody over their daughter Adeya, saying his former legal counsel included allegations that the “Gangsta” singer is involved in a “cult” that threatens the well-being of their child without his express permission.
In a message posted to Instagram Friday (Aug. 9), the guitarist writes that the court documents were “submitted without my approval from my former representation.”
“These documents contained general recollections from my initial consultation with my aforementioned rep,” Young-White wrote. “They were filed with choice language I didn’t okay. I regret they were included.”
Billboard has reached out to his former counsel for comment.
Elsewhere in the statement, Young-White explains that information regarding Kehlani’s former church was “circulated to me by parties of priority.” “I am now aware that these parties were attempting to use allegations and vocabulary to escalate their own disputes within the church,” he continued. “As of today, these parties no longer align with their allegations … When I was presented with the allegations against … [the] church, my daughter was no longer affiliated. However, I was still deeply distressed about the direct care of my child.”
The statement comes after Young-White’s July 24 custody filing, which alleged that Adeya was “born through a home birth orchestrated by what [he] would describe as a cult that [Kehlani] belongs in,” which he attributed as the reason his name isn’t listed on his daughter’s birth certificate. (Kehlani previously shared after the little girl’s arrival that she had delivered the baby at home.) Young-White also claimed that his ex leaves their child in the care of members of the church while on tour, during which time “Adeya sleeps in the bed with and is given baths by random adult members of the cult, and she is often in the bedroom alone with some of these people.”
“Respondent has been involved in this cult for the past few years and it appears that this cult controls her actions and her behavior, including when it comes to the upbringing of our daughter,” the filing claimed.
Kehlani broke her silence on the allegations Wednesday (Aug. 7), calling them “hurtful, inaccurate, inappropriate, and simply untrue” in a statement on Instagram Stories. “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 at the time, noting that they “would not be commenting further.”
“I also do not align with any of the allegations made against my former religious community that have been stated in the media,” they continued.
In his new statement, Young-White said that he “could never have anticipated that such serious allegations would be so careless,” though he says he still believes that his alarm was “proportionate to the information” he received from “trusted parties.”
“I deeply regret and apologize for any role I played in perpetuating these claims,” Young-White added. “I hope … affected members of the church receive just restoration. I am looking forward to continuing the advocacy of my child’s wellbeing.”
He signed off with “Jauvaughn Young-White & Counsel.”
