Brian McKnight Sues Ex-Wife and Son Over 'Damning' Claims He 'Refused' to Tell Son Niko He Loved Him Before His Death
Brian McKnight Sues Ex-Wife and Son Over 'Damning' Claims He 'Refused' to Tell Son Niko He Loved Him Before His Death
Rachel DeSantis, Sean MandellThu, April 23, 2026 at 11:32 PM UTC
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Brian McKnight in Washington, D.C. in July 2023.Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr./Icon Sportswire via Getty -
Brian McKnight alleges his ex-wife Julie and son Brian Jr. created a "sensational but false narrative" about him in various social media posts and interviews
The main allegation hinges on his reaction to the death of his son Niko, 32, last year
McKnight is suing for defamation, emotional distress and more, citing damage to his reputation and financial losses
Brian McKnight has filed a defamation suit against his ex-wife Julie, son Brian Jr. and more, alleging that they took advantage of his son Niko's death in order to create a “sensational but false narrative” that the singer was a “cruel” father who abandoned his family.
The Grammy-nominated singer, 56, filed a lawsuit in Georgia on Tuesday, April 21, claiming Julie, Brian Jr., and several news outlets and interviewers profited off a “tragic family death” and committed “malicious character assassination,” according to the documents, which were obtained by PEOPLE.
McKnight's filing focuses largely on claims made by Julie and Brian Jr. that the singer did not tell his estranged son Niko that he loved him before Niko died of cancer in May 2025 at age 32.
“Defendant Julie McKnight… asserted that their son repeatedly told Plaintiff ‘I love you' during the call while Plaintiff refused to reciprocate, thereby portraying Plaintiff as emotionally cruel and indifferent toward his terminally ill son,” the filing says.
Brian McKnight, Julie McKnight, Niko and Brian Jr. in West Hollywood in December 1998.Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
The complaint claims that Julie sent a voice message to McKnight asking him not to initiate contact with Niko, and he respected her wishes.
Julie, Brian Jr. and additional defendants Marc Lamont Hill, Tasha K and the New York Post did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment, nor did McKnight's attorney.
The “Back at One” singer married Julie in 1989 and they were divorced in 2003. According to the complaint, the two signed a settlement agreement in 2014 that bars them each from making negative comments about the other — and he claims that Julie violated that agreement when she gave interviews to Tasha K and Marc Lamont Hill, who are both named as defendants.
McKnight's filing says conflict with his family began in 2019, when Brian Jr. shared an Instagram post implying that the singer was an absentee father.
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He claims the “narrative” surrounding his treatment of his family worsened last year, when Julie published a memoir that portrayed him as “an abusive husband and neglectful father.”
In April 2025, Julie did an interview with Tasha K, and McKnight claims that the host "actively participated” in advancing a narrative against him and also accused him of getting a teenage girl pregnant, which he denies.
Brian McKnight in London in April 2024.Credit: Joseph Okpako/WireImage
Then, Julie and Brian Jr. did an interview with Hill in which they claimed McKnight “refused to communicate with his son during his final illness, refused to tell him that he loved him before his death, and emotionally abandoned him during his final days — accusations that portrayed Plaintiff as a father who withheld love and compassion from his dying child.”
McKnight described the allegation as the “most emotionally charged, damning and false accusation,” and said that Hill monetized his interview with McKnight's ex-wife and son when he posted it to YouTube and Patreon.
The claims were then picked up by outlets including the New York Post, which is listed as a defendant, and McKnight says he suffered “tangible financial loss” and a hit to his reputation.
The singer, who is also a father to other children including 2-year-old son Brian with his wife Leilani, is suing on claims of defamation and false light invasion of privacy/disclosure, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more. He's also suing Julie alleging breach of contract.
He is seeking unspecified damages.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
