Brian McKnight was trending on Twitter recently–and not for noble reasons. The “Back at One” singer is being called out for not acknowledging his biological children. Again. The 53-year-old has four biological children from previous relationships, which include Brian Jr., Briana, Niko and Clyde.
Twitter users pointed to McKnight’s Instagram where he acknowledges his stepchildren in a way that seemed to shade his biological kids.
This fresh criticism started after a user resurfaced an Instagram post from 2020 where the singer thanks his stepdaughter for “making me a girl dad.”
“Jules I became a girl dad because of YOU and I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter,” McKnight wrote in a caption then.
The caption continued, “Visiting you on campus and seeing how happy you are living in this beach house with all your friends for your senior year reminded us both of how proud we are of the woman you have become and the incredible student you continue to be. Here’s to you Jules the perfect daughter I always wanted.”
Twitter users weren’t feeling the post for several reasons–main one being that, as mentioned, McKnight has a daughter, Briana, and the post reads as a subliminal jab at her. They also called him out again for not including any of his children from previous relationships in his Instagram bio, which currently reads, “Father of Julia, Jack, Kekoa Matteo and Brian Kainoa Makoa.”
The R&B crooner has been at odds with his four children from previous relationships for several years now. He also addressed past backlash, explaining why he is estranged from his children. In 2019, he shared a video citing reasons such as them being “entitled.”
“I’ve never missed a day of child support. I’ve never done anything adverse to my children whatsoever. I’ve always been there. I’ve always been there with advice, whether they took it or not. I have always been the sounding board and I’ve always been the one who had to help them achieve whatever dreams that they were wanting to reach out for,” he said in the video.
His kids, however, have a different interpretation of the situation. In 2019, his son, Brian McKnight Jr. spoke out about his estranged father and his disbelief about how he could turn his back on both his children and grandchildren.
“I don’t think there is any situation that merits the way my father has chosen to treat my brother, my sisters, and his grandchildren, one of which being his first born’s, first born son, who also bares our name,” Brian McKnight Jr. wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook in 2019. “It’s insane to me. To have absolutely no empathy for the type of life be [sic] introduced us to, only to become to resent us for that life catching up with us. It breaks my heart, but not for myself, specifically for my siblings, and my children. They don’t deserve this at all.”
Briana has also poured her heart out on Instagram. In 2019, she detailed the pain she has experienced over the years because of her father’s abandonment. She also thanked her brothers for filling in the gap.
McKnight was previously married to songwriter Julie McKnight between 1990 to 2003. Brian and Niko came from that union while he had Briana with his former partner, Patricia Driver.
He is now married to Lilani Mendoza who has four children–three being from a previous relationship. Her youngest, Brian, is the only child she shares with McKnight, and they had him earlier this year after experiencing a miscarriage.