Brian McKnight defends himself from kids' allegations. Says they didn't want him in their lives ·
James Bradley There have been keen eyes and ears following Brian McKnight's relationship with his biological kids after they called him out for abandoning them. The clash between the McKnights has revealed a lot about how the family had been growing apart.
McKnight's kids posted pictures on their Instagram with captions stating the singer abandoned them. This led him to come out in an exclusive interview denying their claims and revealing that his relationship with his biological children was fraught even before his divorce — emphasizing the times when his former family had made him feel unwanted in their lives.
The McKnight Family Feud
The singer/philanthropist has three biological kids: two sons and a daughter, from his first marriage with Julie Mcknight. The couple went solid for 13 years, from 1990 to 2003.
After the 2003 divorce, McKnight married pediatric neurophysiologist Lelani McPhee in 2007. After marrying Lelani, he became a step-father to her two kids: Julia and Jack McPhee.
Following their marriage, the singer has been living with his new family.
Ever since his divorce, hisbiological children have maintained a distant relationship with him. This was evident in the fact that he was never mentioned in any of their social media posts. However, when they mentioned him, it was not in a positive note, which brought to light their family feud.
The feud began when his son Brian McKnight Jr. and daughter Briana McKnight expressed in their respective Instagram handles how their father had turned his back on his children and grandchildren. In a now-deleted post, his son, Brian Jr., pointed out that his father had neglected all of them. His daughter, Briana's post, is still visible, and in it, she went to length to describe the hurt and pain she felt because of her father's neglect.
In the caption, Briana mentioned how she and her father had always been distant and how she blamed herself for it. She wrote that she felt horrid when her calls had to go through someone else before getting to her father. The singer's daughter also mentioned how her father never called to wish her on her birthday.
In the caption, she thanked her brothers for being the father figure she needed in her life and that, like her brother Brian Jr, she wanted to tell her side of the story.
Brian's Side Of the Story
The 90's star instantly denied his children's allegations in an interview with The Jasmine Brand in August 2019. In the interview, the singer was vocal about how his relationship with his kids had evolved over the years.
The singer shared that he never missed a single day of child support and had always been there for his kids. The star stated that his kids were not children anymore, and that he was a pillar of support throughout their childhood and in times of need.
I guess one of my only faults is that I gave my children everything that I didn’t have in the hopes that they would appreciate it, because I know how much I would have appreciated it when I was their age.
The philanthropist believed the fiasco began when he posted a picture expressing pride for Jack, Lelani's son.
Regarding his daughter, the songwriter expressed that their relationship had spiraled even before the divorce.
McKnight recalled that some years ago, he caught wind of a rumor about an elder cousin who was above 18 having a sexual relationship with Briana. Carrying out a responsible father's duties, the singer called the state office for children’s affairs in Arizona. According to him, he never heard anything from the department and his ex-wife, Julie, blocked the singer and his family from Briana's social media handles following the incident.
The singer addressed that the incident made him realize they didn't want him in their lives. He went on to add that he couldn't fathom where all of the allegations were stemming from.
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