Roommates, tension is heating up again between Brian McKnight and his family as he has reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Julie McKnight and his son Brian McKnight Jr. The suit doesn’t stop there. PEOPLE reports that he’s also suing media figures, Tasha K and Marc Lamont Hill in addition to, Recent York Post, claiming they used his late son Niko McKnight’s death to push a false narrative about him.
RELATED: Julie McKnight Speaks On Brian McKnight Allegedly Not Telling Niko He Loved Him, Files To Dismiss Defamation Lawsuit
Details On Brian McKnight’s Lawsuit Against Julie McKnight & Brian McKnight Jr.
In line with TMZ, Brian McKnight accuses Julie McKnight, Brian McKnight Jr., Marc Lamont Hill, Tasha K, and the Recent York Post of teaming as much as attack his fame and profit off what he calls “malicious character assassination. He filed the lawsuit in Georgia on April 21, saying a “shockingly dishonest” and false narrative paints him as a father who abandoned his kids and refused to inform his late son Niko that he loved him. Brian adds that the claims hurt his fame, profession, and family, and says the continuing attacks pushed him to take legal motion. The suit reportedly seeks compensatory damages.
“Defendant Julie McKnight asserted that their son repeatedly told Plaintiff “I like you” in the course of the call while Plaintiff refused to reciprocate, thereby portraying Plaintiff as emotionally cruel and indifferent toward his terminally unwell son,” the filing reportedly states
This isn’t the primary time Brian has taken legal motion against Julie. In 2025, he filed a lawsuit accusing her of defamation, slander, and libel. She was also accused of claiming he caused emotional abuse and neglect, in addition to their sons’ lack of success within the music industry.
Here’s What Julie Previously Said About Brian’s Relationship With Niko
“Those words should come easily, freely, and sometimes. And in Niko’s case, lying on his sick bed, fighting through pain, fear, and uncertainty, he deserved that love spoken over him greater than ever. There may be nothing more heartbreaking than hearing your child say that every one they need is to easily hear his father say “those three words.” She continued, “No child should need to long for something so basic, so pure, so needed to the human heart. As his mother, hearing those words from him cut deeper than anything I could have imagined.”
Brian Jr. & Marc Lamont Hill Weigh In On Brian Sr.’s Estranged Relationship With Niko
Brian McKnight Jr. has also accused Brian Sr. of refusing to inform Niko he loved him before he passed. Marc Lamont Hill later dropped an exclusive interview with Brian Jr. and Julie in December 2025. Within the exclusive chat, Brian Jr. recalled certainly one of his darkest moments — Niko calling him in tears.
“All my brother wanted and needed […] asked for, was my father to inform him that he loves him […] and my father responds to him, ‘I can’t arbitrarily say that I like you.’ But that is the person that desired to help him?” Brian Jr. recalled.
Marc also shared that hearing Julie and Brian Jr. describe Niko’s final moments hit especially hard in the course of the interview. “I can’t imagine how impossibly difficult this complete ordeal was for your complete family.”
RELATED: Brian McKnight Jr. Reacts To His Dad Celebrating Allegedly Winning $8M Judgement Against Julie McKnight On His Late Brother’s Birthday
What Do You Think Roomies?