Gladys Knight‘s son Shanga Hankerson insists his public battle over his mother’s demanding tour schedule isn’t about control.
Fans of the 82-year-old “Empress of Soul” have expressed concern that she is repeatedly losing her place onstage amid calls for her to stop touring. Knight says she plans to step back after a few more shows.
But her son says that’s not enough as he pushes to keep a promise that has stayed with him throughout the family’s recent public dispute.
Hankerson, Knight’s only surviving son, tells Atlanta Black Star in an exclusive interview that his mother made the request directly.
It was before she married William McDowell, whom critics accused of pushing Knight beyond her limits.
Hankerson claims his mother struggles to distinguish past experiences from present reality.
Despite their rocky past and the restaurant dispute that strained their relationship, he says none of it changes how he feels about his mother.
“We never had any issues personally. Any other issues it may have appeared we had were exacerbated by her husband,” he tells ABS. “And yes all other restaurant related issues have been addressed and resolved.”
Hankerson recalls giving his mother away at her April 2001 wedding in California at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel.
He says it was “against my better judgment,” before sharing a vivid story about Knight becoming overwhelmed while looking for something in the dressing room.
“She got so frustrated,” Hankerson remembers. “In private, when it’s something personal, she does get frustrated. She has all the patience in the world when it comes to performing, but personally, she’s frazzled.”
“I’m like, ‘Mom, chill out. Relax. We’re going to find it,’” Hankerson remembers. He says he had to calm her down as she searched for the item his sister, Kenya Jackson, had given her. She eventually found it and put it on.
He claims that at that time, the seven-time Grammy winner made another request he says he can never ignore.
“Out of nowhere, I swear on my life, she said, ‘You know what?’ I’m like, ‘What?'” Hankerson recalls. “She said, ‘If I can’t ever do this like you know that I’m supposed to do this, you’ve got to be the one to stop it.'”
Hankerson took that as a warning of what was to come: the closing of her career as a performer.
“She asked me that, so I won’t stop,” he said. “This is not how she wants to go out. This is not how she wanted to go out. I promise you that.”
Hankerson’s vow comes as Knight continues performing at a pace that hardly resembles retirement. Concert Archives lists her as doing 52 shows in 2026 and 45 in 2025.
That represents only a slight decline from previous years. Knight performed 77 concerts in 2024, following 72 shows in 2023 and 64 in 2022. She completed 41 dates in 2021, 30 in 2020 and a staggering 91 in 2019, maintaining a demanding schedule even during the COVID-19 era.
For perspective, Jill Scott’s current tour includes just over 40 dates. Chris Brown and Usher’s co-headlining “The R&B Tour” spans 59 shows. Knight’s schedule rivals those of performers decades younger, making her family’s concerns difficult to dismiss.
That workload has fueled Hankerson’s allegations against McDowell, Knight’s husband and manager, whom he believes is trying to “protect his own interest” and whose “whole goal is to run her literally to death.”
“I just want her to have the most peaceful transition possible without being pushed to a premature end or being unhappy due to fear of being discarded by the only person she cares about when she is not able to work, which is her husband.”
In August 2025, Hankerson filed an elder abuse complaint with North Carolina authorities, accusing McDowell of exploiting his mother mentally and financially. He also alleged Knight had zoned out onstage, forgotten lyrics, and leaned on background singers to recover.
Knight rejected the allegations, declaring herself “healthy and happy,” defending McDowell, and maintaining that she controls her own career and health decisions. No dementia diagnosis has been confirmed.
Several performances have kept the debate alive. Footage from Knight’s July 25 Hollywood Bowl concert appeared to show her losing her place during “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Concertgoers also raised concerns after an Aug. 18 Detroit show, saying she looked exhausted.
Concern intensified after her Sept. 5 Tulsa concert. Attendee Paul Gregory Richard said Knight started strong before struggling with her lyrics, and that the show stopped after an hour because “she just could not continue.”
McDowell previously acknowledged that Knight had “good days and bad.” He said she would undergo a medical evaluation, and that Tulsa would help determine whether she could finish the tour.
“No one is ever gonna make me say, ‘My wife is well,’ but all she wants to do is sing,” he told TMZ.
Knight returned to the stage days later. Her two recent statements have also raised questions: on Aug. 27, she announced she would be “easing into fewer performances,” and on Sept. 13, she said the “midnight train” would make a few more stops.
Hankerson’s past has also raised questions about his credibility. Knight previously sued to remove her name from his chicken-and-waffles restaurant chain, and he later served two years in federal prison for failing to pay payroll taxes.
The son argues that his history doesn’t erase his mother’s request. He believes McDowell made strategic moves while Knight was of clearer mind — decisions he claims now prevent him from intervening.
“She did a lot of things, because of him maneuvering her when she was of clearer mind, that made it impossible for me to protect her like she asked me to do,” Hankerson said.
Hankerson says it’s time for Knight to step back, “That time has not only passed but is long overdue.”
The “Love Overboard” singer is not the only celebrity whose adult child has raised elder abuse allegations against another relative or caregiver.
In 2023, John Amos’ daughter, Shannon Amos, accused her brother, K.C. Amos, of elder abuse. The actor died in 2024, but the bitter family battle continued in court after his death.
Hopefully, the Knight family can avoid a similarly painful ending. Hankerson wants his mother to get the rest he believes she needs, but only time will tell whether this deeply personal dispute can end amicably.
