How Brian McKnight is Haunted by Sex Abuse Lawsuit and Sad Drama Over Estranged Son Niko's Death as He Marks 56th Birthday
Brian McKnight slammed his brother and ex-wife ahead of his 56th birthday.
June 5 2025, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Grammy winner Brian McKnight's 56th birthday has been overshadowed by fresh family drama and legal woes, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The R&B singer recently slammed his brother Claude McKnight after he shared that Brian's late, estranged son, Cole 'Niko' McKnight, died of brain cancer.
Niko's Death
Brian's estranged son Niko died aged 32 on May 29 after a battle with brain cancer.
Niko died aged 32 on May 29 following a two-year cancer battle. Claude, as well as Niko's mother, Julie McKnight, confirmed the 32-year-old's death on social media.
After news of Claude's TikTok video broke, Brian took to Instagram and branded his brother "tasteless" while accusing him of "inserting himself" in the private family matter.
Brian said in the reel: "A big, big thanks to Claude McKnight’s tasteless and self-aggrandizing announcement on TikTok, that frankly was not his to make, in my opinion, he inserted himself and used Niko’s death as an opportunity, instead of letting him pass with respect and dignity."
Brian Slams Family Members
Brian accused his brother Claude of being 'tasteless' for confirming his son's death online.
The Back at One singer continued: "It has instead turned into a circus, a mockery of a life now lost, making this tragedy into a reality show type drama."
Brian further revealed he and his family "flew to Maui and had a private memorial for Niko," during which they remembered "all the good times."
He then called out his ex-wife while claiming he offered to help Niko amid his cancer battle, but he declined.
Estrangement
Niko became estranged from his father in 2019.
He added: "The last time he and I spoke, we offered him all the help we could provide, we had the number one oncologist on deck for him and a team of specialists on standby with private care in our home. He and his mother declined. The door of communication was open and remained open until his death.
"To the self-proclaimed 'mama bear' may God have mercy on your soul for not allowing him to accept that help and not allowing him to use that line of communication."
Niko was estranged from his father for years before his death. The relationship was shattered after Brian called his children "entitled" in 2019.
In 2023, Brian publicly disowned his children because they were "the product of sin."
His comment prompted Niko to accuse him of being hypocritical and cruel online.
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Brian filed a defamation lawsuit against Jaguar Wright in April.
In addition to Brian's ongoing family drama, he also filed a defamation lawsuit against musician Jaguar Wright in April.
His lawsuit alleged Jaguar defamed him online when she claimed he abused his ex-wife Julie, who she said was her cousin, as well as accusing Brian of hiring sex workers to abuse.
Brian claimed Jaguar knew her claims were lies but made them to smear his reputation.
He further denied ever being physically abusive to his ex-wife and claimed he was not aware Jaguar was her cousin.
