R&B singer Brian McKnight is making headlines again for his dismissing his past relationships in a resurfaced clip and shading the mothers of his older children.
The 53-year-old singer has recently been criticized for seemingly not acknowledging his older children and praising his stepchildren on social media. Brian got married to his current wife Leilani in 2017.
Briana is Brian’s only biological daughter, although he receives Leilani’s kids as his own. Leilani has a son and daughter from previous relationships; meanwhile, she and Brian welcomed their first child together this year.
Brian shares Briana with his ex Patricia Driver. She was born while he was married to his first wife Julie. Brian and Julie, who were married from 1990 to 2003, share two sons named Niko and BJ. Brian has been estranged from his children for a few years.
A reporter recently shared a video from her 2020 interview with Brian on Twitter. “My interview with Brian McKnight during lockdown. The real-time disrespect was SHOCKING,” she tweeted. “I would like an award for mustering a smile in the middle when I realized my face looked like.”
In the clip, the interviewer asked McKnight what song still had an impact on him today, and in his response, he took the discussion completely left.
“Well the ones that do, the only ones that speak to me are the ones I’ve written since Leilani came into my life ’cause those are the only ones that have a meaning,” he stated. “Sure, there were big hits before then but they weren’t based on anything, ’cause I never even liked anyone before I met her,” he said, prompting Clark to reply, “Oh, wow.”
McKnight continued, “Everything I wrote before then wasn’t based on anything romantic. It was arithmetic.”
After some criticism, the radio personality revealed that the interview took place years ago, noting that she was unaware McKnight was currently under fire as well.
“This was 3 years ago and I wasn’t aware that he had done a deep dive into ridiculousness. This was supposed to be a brief interview about new music. He took a left and started talking about this nonsense,” she tweeted.
“His ex lives here and listens to our station. I gathered that this was intentional on his part and wanted to move past his…whatever he was doing. And, yes, Julie heard it. We talked. She’s got a lot to say about things…” the woman continued.
After viewing the video, one critic said, “Did he really say “I never liked anyone before i met her?” So he never once liked his first wife whom he was married to for 17 years?”
In another Twitter thread about the “Back at One” singer, critics shared a link to the lawsuit that was brought against him by his daughter, whom he accused of incest.
Court documents prove that Briana filed the suit in 2020 after her father posted a December 2019 YouTube video claiming she’d had an affair with an “older cousin.” She sued Brian for defamation after he accused her of incest.
The suit claims she had little contact with her father in 2015, none in 2016 and sporadically in 2017. He even backtracked to suggest he only demanded she reveal that she had relations, not with whom.
McKnight claimed to have contacted children’s affairs in Arizona but he “never heard anything back.” Briana also claims that her dad said her mother “only had a child with” the “One Last Cry” singer “for money in the first place.”
Twitter users were shocked to hear McKnight’s remarks about the mothers of his older children and to find out he attempted to have his daughter disclose details about her intimate partners in court.
“It just keeps getting worse everyday the news I hear about him, he’s so gross,” said one person,
“Brian McKnight really started back at one with a whole new family. Man,” wrote another.
Radar Online reports the case was dismissed in February before going to trial.
