Brian McKnight is focused on the positive side of life, and that apparently means severing ties with some of his children.
The “Love of My Life” crooner has made headlines in past months for publicly disowning his firstborn, Brian Kelly McKnight Jr., and son Niko, both of whom he shares with ex-wife Julie McKnight. The exes were married from 1990 to 2003. He also has an estranged daughter named Briana, whom he shares with ex Patricia Driver.
The singer has six kids in total; four are biological, and two, Julia and Jack McPhee, are stepchildren he gained when he married his current wife, Leilani McKnight, in 2017. The pair welcomed their first son, Brian Kainoa Makoa Jr., in 2022. That same year, they revealed they suffered a pregnancy loss while expecting a son named Kekoa.
Brian Sr. has been the topic of discussion among his fans for two years as his relationships with his children prior to finding love with Leilani have spilled out onto social media. After sharing a celebratory Instagram post acknowledging that stepdaughter Julia earned her master’s degree in December, those conversations were renewed.
Can't deny tht TS-SB is one of the most famous anthem out there. There hv been many versions throughout the years but Brian Mcknight & Sons version is one of the best @JeffA92234 @SSHSSH29 @EgyptianShumba @mareupiper_17 @MichelleBocklag @dataperversion @ArcaneNibbler @rockmom5280 pic.twitter.com/OhLDjH0Z3H
— Ray Andrew Koh (@RayKK) March 29, 2020
One commenter wrote, “You have a daughter, I wonder how this post makes her feel.” The songwriter responded in a video on April 14, where he stated, “Here’s another somebody asking about my one and only daughter Julia, asking about how she feels about her post about her graduation. Well, how you think she feels?”
He further hit back at the “snide” comment with, “She feels great. See, Julia understands the scripture Exodus 20:12, where it says, and I quote, ‘Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days be long upon the land..’ See, she honors us, and in turn, we honor her because she knows how proud of her we are.”
Additionally, while on a roll responding to remarks left on his posts, the musician found a supporter in the person who suggested, “The one that keep saying, ‘what about his other children,’ some families are pure evil.’” The hitmaker was elated that “he gets it.”
“In order to live a life that you love, you have to get rid of the evil and the negativity, even if that evil and negativity is related,” said the former ’90s heartthrob. “We want everyone to live a life that you love, our hashtag, that’s what it means. Hashtag I love our life. In order to do that, you have to get rid of all that evil and negativity. There’s so many angry and upset and negative people out there. We want to use our platform as a place of positivity.”
“How??? When you disowned your kids,” remarked a disapproving user while many called him “Toxic & childish.”
Another comment read, “No matter what happened with his kids, no normal father writes off his kids. What kind of weird mindset do you have to have to name another of your own kids Brian Junior? It’s toxic & childish & even this new perfect family will probably fall to pieces too coz he hasn’t dealt with his issues & fixed himself yet.”
A third person wrote, “Dude said his own daughter was promiscuous and incestuous. How does a man say that about his child. He will abandon this family too. Anyone who thinks he won’t is naive.”
In 2020, Briana filed a defamation suit against her father after he claimed she had a sexual relationship with an “older cousin.” At that time, she had been estranged from Brian Sr. since 2015. The case was eventually dismissed in February 2023.
The singer’s son Niko is currently battling a form of cancer, a diagnosis he revealed in January.
