Singer Brian McKnight has ignited yet another wave of backlash after appearing on a podcast and reopening old wounds tied to his first family.
Fans online found his remarks cruel and ill-timed, coming just months after the death of his estranged son, Niko. What he framed as an explanation quickly read as a bashing session about his ex-wife, Niko’s mom, Julie McKnight.
Speaking with host Anton Daniels on an episode of the YouTuber’s show this week, McKnight revisited how his marriage to Julie McKnight began. He said they met in college, grew close, and the relationship intensified when she became pregnant at 18.
At 20 years old and preparing to sign his first record deal, McKnight claimed he urged her to get an abortion. He said she initially agreed.
“I honored my mother and i tried to do the right thing with a woman I hadn’t even known a year yet. We got married in September. Baby in November. We had a sort of an agreement. I’m not changing diapers. I’m 20 years old. This is not what I expected to do.”
According to the “Back at One” singer, he then felt obligated to marry her to protect his mother’s respected place in their Black Adventist church, believing she would lose her church office if her son had a child out of wedlock.
“I’m 20 years old, I’m not … this is not what I expected to do. You made this decision, you’re going to handle that, and I’m going to handle this,” he said, telling the host that Julie told him she was going to have an abortion but did not.
McKnight said they separated four times, including two years into their 13-year marriage and stayed together only “for the kids.”
“I was never in love with their mother. I wasn’t. They weren’t made from love to begin with. I said this before and people got mad … this obligation that just because you lay with somebody, now it’s sort of an 18-year sentence of some kind. There’s resentment.”
McKnight also described trying to guide their sons, Brian Jr. and Niko, into music after they chose not to attend college.
But he noted the situation deteriorated when they moved into his home. The “Back at One” singer mentioned problems with what he considered disrespect. He claimed the breaking point came when the boys quit the tour mid-run, saying, “We miss our girlfriends. We ain’t going back. We’re done. We’re done here.”
Social media reaction was swift, emotional, and blistering. “This is hateful. Honor your children that didn’t ask to be here. Be a parent and cover them. May not have been ideal, but you are the reason this happened. No compassion at all,” wrote one person in Anton Daniels’ comment section.
On Facebook, one person asked, “What happened between them to make him hate them so much?” to which another replied, “They claimed abuse & disrepect by him. All his kids have the same story…. them vs his side… yeah he’s the common denominator.”
Another said, “That new wife, new kid, and the ones he’s claiming as his own are going to show him how Karma gets down. They going to turn him every which way but loose. Seen to too many times. They will be his truest heart break. Watch.”
McKnight’s issues with his older children have played out publicly for years. In 2019, his daughter, Briana, previously sued him for defamation.
Four years later, the “Anytime” singer legally changed his name to match that of his youngest son with his current wife, Lelani, despite already having a son named after him. In 2024, while Niko was undergoing chemotherapy for stage 4 colon cancer, McKnight called his older children “products of sin,” prompting Niko to respond, “I’m evil??? That’s wild.”
The tension escalated after Niko died in May 2025.
When McKnight’s brother Claude posted a TikTok memorial, the singer accused him of making a “tasteless and self-aggrandizing announcement” and turning tragedy into drama.
He also publicly criticized his ex-wife, claiming she blocked attempts at reconciliation. Niko had previously shared that when he reached out from his hospital bed, his father told him he “couldn’t arbitrarily tell me he loves me.”
The controversy grew when McKnight celebrated an $8.8 million default judgment in a defamation case against Julie — and posted about it on what would have been Niko’s 33rd birthday.
Brian been trash since going live and disowning his grown children.
— BMore (@BMORE0831) October 18, 2025
Outrage followed, with one critic saying, “Quit giving this man a platform to further abuse his family. He is sick and unkind.”
Another viewer added, “I’m side eyeing Brian here ..Even if this is true. It sounds ugly. 13 years… He’s making it look like it was all bad.. It may not have been destined to be, but Dang!!”
Despite the uproar, Houston officials still plan for him to headline their annual holiday tree-lighting concert, even as the online backlash intensifies, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The outcry makes one thing clear: McKnight’s continued decision to publicly attack his first family has reshaped his legacy more than any R&B ballad ever could.
