Good news may be underway for any loyal Brian McKnight fans living in Detroit!
More than three months after McKnight’s concert was canceled in the Motor City, the 55-year-old vocalist has informed his faithful fans that the show may not be completely scrapped just yet.
Many suspected the cancellation came from low ticket sales or the ridicule he faced for his disparaging remarks about his older children. But he says that’s not true.
On Sept. 1, McKnight took to his social media to share the news with his followers while also explaining the real reason the show was canceled in the first place. Toward the latter part of a two-minute and 41-second clip, McKnight said he had to give “a quick note about Detroit.”
“I love my fans in Detroit,” he said, “I play there every year for the last 30 [years] and I sell out every time. But my last show was advertised on Facebook, the bullies jumped into the comments and threatened me and the folks who were coming.”
The “Back At One” singer said he and the promoter named Bill thought it was in everyone’s best interest to cancel the show, “choosing safety over money.” The Detroit show will be rescheduled for a later date in 2025.
The “bullies” that McKnight is referring to reportedly dismissed his event due to the jarring comments he made about his four eldest biological children where he referred to them as a “product of sin” and even alluded to them being evil.
In an April 13 post, McKnight, who is a Seventh-day Adventist said, “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.”
A fan called out McKnight’s video as disowning his children, to which McKnight swiftly wrote back, “1. God wasn’t talking about children that are the product of sin which these are 2. I didn’t raise them their mothers did 3. Know the whole story before quoting the Bible 4. Take your inaccurate negativity off my page and try being happy.”
Brian McKnight exposed by his oldest son for calling them ‘products of sin.”
— Yetunde Folarin (@xxyettymamaxx) April 24, 2024
Everything that you are doing, your kids and taking notes and can be used against you in the future. Now I see why his ex wife left him. Children shouldn’t be cleaning up condoms at any age. 🤦♀️ pic.twitter.com/HEaiENpIvJ
Many fans were disgusted by McKnight’s response, and the drama with his children ended up impacting his tour. Not only did fans vow not to attend his Detroit concert, but his D.C. concert, which was initially slated for July, also ended up getting postponed to November.
But in the Sept. 1 video he does more than just give an update about Detroit. He also calls out news outlets for reporting gossip on the drama with his family and being “desperate for clicks,” and also he assures viewers that he still has many devoted fans.
Posting a headline that reads “Brian McKnight’s Ticket Sales Drop As Fans Continue to Boycott His Music” and adding footage of his packed-out concerts, McKnight said, “There’s so many false narratives out there about my fans having stopped supporting me. I wanted to acknowledge the fact that just because something is reported on IG or Youtube, that doesn’t make it true.”
He goes on to read a letter from the mayor of the Atlanta suburb of Douglasville, Rochelle Robinson, where she thanked him for coming to the city to perform.
The letter reads, “As evidenced by your sold out show our citizens are big fans and were excited when they heard you were coming to perform in our city. Thank you for choosing to be here and putting on what I know will be a fabulous show,” before she signs off.
McKnight also took a moment to address radio host and actor Rickey Smiley, who once added his two cents about “kids that have been abandoned by fathers,” according to McKnight’s eldest.
“You are not thrown away, you are not garbage, you are loved, you are to be respected,” Smiley stated in a social media post in May. “We are not here to try to replace your father, which that can’t be done, but we can be something to you. Just make sure you go on into adulthood and live your life, and get you the help and therapy that you need so that you can move on, ‘cause words hurt.
He continued, “And she tuff like this hurt a lot. You know, when things like this are said, it’s a bell that cannot be unrung.”
I want the adult children of #BrianMcKnight who've been #disowned to know they have a lot of support out here. You are not thrown away.#RickeySmiley pic.twitter.com/rAtO1IH7aL
— Rickey Smiley (@RickeySmiley) May 6, 2024
In the clip, McKnight added that he wants to create a positive space on his platform called Fatherhood Fridays. He said, “I want my first guest to be Rickey Smiley, who’s apparently the father of the year. You see it’s easy to press post and spew a one-way uninformed perspective, but are you man enough and father enough to come on my platform and have a dialogue? Come on, let’s talk, Rick.”
McKnight has five older children, Brian Jr. Niko, Briana, Clyde, Braylinn. Brian Jr. and Niko from his ex-wife Julie, whom he was married to from 1990 to 2003. Briana’s mother is Patricia Diver and McKnight fathered Clyde with an unknown woman. His teenage daughter Braylinn is with a woman named Lori Beth, who is rarely mentioned by him.
McKnight’s three eldest children have all publicly claimed to have been abandoned by the singer, claims which McKnight has adamantly denied.
However, the “Anytime” singer has boastfully claimed his stepchildren with his current wife Leilani whilst denouncing his older biological children. McKnight and Lelani now share a son together, and last year he announced that he legally changed his name to Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. to match his son’s — making his son a junior despite the fact that his first son is already a Jr.
In his social media profile, McKnights writes that he is “father of Julia, Jack, Kekoa Matteo & Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Jr,” purposefully removing himself from any connection to his four other children.
The “Anytime” singer has also claimed he “never liked anyone” before meeting his current wife.
However, McKnight’s recent confession was not met with grace as fans reminded him of his actions toward his kids over the last few months.
“Nobody tear us down like us? Is that right? This f—k!ng d—khead sat there and said his bio kids were made out of sin and he never loved his wife. but in the same breath he’s loving, praising and taking care of another man’s kids,” one person wrote on Lipstick Alley.
“You can’t make this sh!t up. Hey Brian book Madison Square Garden and get back to us. Them little 4×4 bar room clubs that’s a max capacity of 75 folks don’t count bruh.”
Another said, “this fool described his oldest kids as ‘…born out of sin…’ AROUND THE SAME TIME ONE OF THEM WAS GOING THROUGH CHEMO FOR STAGE 3 CANCER. Let’s not even talk about how he described his daughter as promiscuous, knowing full well she had been abused as a minor.” They continued, “Anyone going to this clown’s shows is either oblivious to his trashtastic personality and behavior or dumb.”
In the midst of the back and forth online, McKnight’s 25-year-old son, Niko, revealed on X that he made attempts to move forward in their relationship during a time he was in the hospital with complications from cancer in April.
Niko claimed that he asked his father to tell him he loves him, but he said McKnight “couldn’t arbitrarily tell me he loves me. Still cuts so deep.”
McKnight’s daughter Briana sued him in 2021 for defamation and invasion of privacy after alleging she had an inappropriate relationship with a family member. The case was settled in 2023.
