Benzino has confirmed what his daughter Coi Leray revealed recently — that the two no longer speak to one another — and the ex-Source co-owner says he can’t believe it’s really happened.
In a recent chat with the We In Miami podcast, which dropped on Thursday (May 9), the former Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star said that he was trying to respect his daughter’s wishes in avoiding communication with her.
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“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “But, you know, we don’t communicate too much. The whole thing is surreal to me… I’m a smart guy but I can’t figure this one out.”
He continued: “Coi is a young lady, she independent. This young generation, they don’t want their parents interfering with their lives, man. I have to learn to adapt to that and respect that. It just ain’t Coi, it’s a lot of my daughters. It’s hard for guys like me to have daughters and try to figure it out. Not the easiest thing.”
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Check out the full interview clip below.
For her part, Coi Leray claims that she no longer speaks to her father in the aftermath of comments he made about R. Kelly.
“Everybody deserves a second chance,” he said when asked about the disgraced singer. “The legal age is 16 years old, so does that make it right if a n-gga does it — yes or no?
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“Why the fuck is R. Kelly doing all this time? Because they’re 14 and 13 — two years younger — but you don’t think that the people who cleared it for 16 years old didn’t know that they’re fucking with 13s and 14s, too?
“Even to make [an] age that young to be the law, you already know they’re going under that. I’m not condoning n-ggas fucking with little girls — it’s sick, alright, it’s sick, it’s sick — but I don’t think R. Kelly should rot in jail for 30 years either.”
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While far from the first time the father and daughter have fallen out publicly, following those comments, Leray made it clear that she no longer wants anything to with Zino.
She wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on May 1: “I want everybody to know I want nothing to do with anything my father has going on. I haven’t spoken to him in over a year and I don’t condone or respect any of them interviews he got going on.
“I don’t respect his decisions and I really want nothing to do with him please dont even think of me when you see him. Sharing the same DNA and blood DOESN’T make us FAMILY. Loyalty, boundaries, respect, teaching, guidance, love, patience, encouragement MAKES US FAMILY.
“Keep me away from people who try to ‘get their lick back’ please. And thank you.”
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She concluded: “I can’t wait to have a kid one day. I can’t wait to look her/him in the eye and tell them how much I love them.”
