Brian McKnight files lawsuit against son, ex-wife, Marc Lamont Hill and others over ‘smear campaign’ against him
The latest lawsuit is the second McKnight has filed in the last six weeks, as he filed a defamation suit against ‘The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,’ North Carolina radio host Karen Clark and Urban One over a 2025 interview his ex-wife did with Clark and the playing of clips from his estranged son’s interview with Hill.
The back-and-forth between Brian McKnight and his estranged family has now taken a new legal twist.
According to TMZ, McKnight is suing his ex-wife, Julie McKnight, his son Brian McKnight Jr., journalist Marc Lamont Hill, blogger Tasha K and the New York Post, alleging that he’s the subject of a “shockingly dishonest” and “sensational but false narrative” about his parenting and relationship with his oldest sons, including that he refused to tell his son Niko that he loved him as he was dying from cancer.
McKnight’s issues with his ex-wife and son are well-documented. He previously engaged in a legal battle with Julie McKnight in 2025 over claims she made about their relationship while they were married in a memoir she wrote. In October, he celebrated on Instagram, claiming he had won an $8.8 million judgment against Julie for defamation after she failed to appear in court.
“It’s been a long journey getting to this day: October 16th, 2025,” Brian said at the time in his IG video. “The verdict is in. We’ve been quiet, listening to liars continue to lie and keeping to ourselves, living and loving our life. As we said, leaving everything in God’s hands and letting our lawyer do the talking. But according to the courts, trying to ruin my name and trying to bring harm to my family in a book filled with lies equals $8.8 million. And this is just the beginning.”
The couple was wed in 1990 before divorcing in 2003.
However, the legal issue isn’t completely settled between the parties. The “Back At One” singer singled out Hill after his 2025 interview with both Julie McKnight and Brian McKnight Jr. Before that interview, Hill called out McKnight during an episode of “The Joe Budden Podcast” in November 2025.
“You’re an a–hole,” Hill told McKnight. “But that’s not why we’re talking about this. I don’t get into your family business. Your family business has nothing to do with me. Except when you make it public. And when you put your family in public on blast, that might make you an a–hole.”
In the suit against multiple parties, McKnight alleges that his reputation, career and family have been negatively affected by the alleged lies of his son, his ex-wife, Hill and the Post. One of the most malicious claims came from gossip blogger Tasha K, who alleged that McKnight was an adulterer who had sex with a minor. He’s seeking an undisclosed amount of damages.
McKnight going to court over family drama is nothing new. In March, he sued “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” its parent company Urban One and North Carolina radio host Karen Clark over claims the entities amplified false portrayals of him as an abusive and neglectful father following Clark’s January 2025 interview with Julie McKnight and the RSMS playing clips of Brian McKnight Jr.’s interview with Hill.
In that suit, McKnight is seeking $25,000 in damages. Urban One is seeking dismissal of the case, arguing that McKnight’s suit is baseless and that the company cannot be held liable for anything Julie McKnight said during her conversation with Clark.
“Even assuming the statements made by Urban One were indeed statements of ‘actual fact,’ not opinion/hyperbole, and could be defamatory (they cannot), plaintiff does not allege any facts that Urban One knew, or should have known, the statements were false or that any statements were made with a reckless disregard for the truth,” the dismissal notion reads.