Singer Brian McKnight’s eldest son and ex-wife are opening up about their fractured relationship with the Grammy-nominated R&B artist and the tragic death of McKnight’s son, Niko.
Niko McKnight died in May at age 32. In the weeks after, Brian McKnight Sr. publicly accused Julie of keeping him from their son during his final days, writing in an Instagram post, “May God have mercy on your soul for not allowing him to accept that help.”
In an exclusive 90-minute interview with journalist Marc Lamont Hill, Brian McKnight Jr. and his mother, Julie McKnight, detailed the painful unraveling of their family ties.
Brian McKnight got some real smoke for Marc Lamont Hill seems like the host of the show does as well pic.twitter.com/TRcf7gMhPb
— Micah Jung Un (@Micah_W17) November 20, 2025
One of the most troubling memories, they said, occurred as Niko battled cancer. According to Brian Jr., his younger brother was desperate to hear a simple message from their father.
“One of the darkest and coldest and most disheartening memories of my life is the day my brother calls me, sobbing with all he’s going through, looking death in the eye, to tell me I’m right about telling him not to call my father because I knew what was going to happen,” Brian Jr. told Hill. “All my brother wanted, needed, asked for, was my father to tell him he loves him. My father responds, ‘I can’t arbitrarily say that I love you.’”
Marc Lamont Hill goes straight to the source and gets speaks directly with Brian McKnight’s children about what they experienced growing up
Full episode here: https://t.co/L422mILWcV pic.twitter.com/1SvZP7Xfvk
— Micah Jung Un (@Micah_W17) December 2, 2025
Brian Jr. has disputed his father’s recent allegations that his older children were “living like rock stars” while touring with him. “Me and Niko? We worked our asses off,” he said. “We loved it. That was my favorite time of my life.”
The younger McKnight also accused his father of unresolved personal issues, saying, “If y’all aren’t seeing what’s happening, this is a very hurt and emotionally unavailable person.”
The McKnight family has not publicly reconciled.
The interview comes after Brian McKnight slammed Marc Lamont Hill for calling him an “assh*le” during an episode of the Joe Budden Podcast. Hill clapped back, doubling down before announcing the interview with Knight’s estranged family.
I have no idea who this Marc Lamont Hill guy is but remind me to never mess with him.He just roasted Brian McKnight & handed him his arse! If I was Brian I’d sit down, STFU & stop being an arsehole. pic.twitter.com/Tr3WM5y6un
— Zandi Sussex (@ZandiSussex) November 23, 2025