Brian McKnight Jr. And Julie McKnight Slam Brian McKnight For Claiming They ‘Martyred’ Niko In ‘Preventable’ Stage 4 Colon Cancer Death: ‘That Is Diabolical & Evil’

The ongoing family drama around singer Brian McKnight continues to unfold. His son, Brian McKnight Jr., and ex-wife, Julie McKnight, are pushing back. They’re addressing McKnight Sr.’s controversial claim that they ‘martyred’ their late son, Niko McKnight, in what he called a “preventable” stage 4 colon cancer death.

The Fallout: Brian McKnight’s Strained Relationship With His Older Children

Brian McKnight has been estranged from his four eldest children for years. This includes Brian Jr. and Niko, shared with Julie, as well as daughter Briana McKnight with ex Patricia Driver, and son Clyde McKnight. Back in 2019, the 56-year-old R&B crooner publicly labeled them “entitled.”

The tensions ran so high that in October 2023, the singer even legally changed his name. His goal? To become a “senior” to his newborn son, Brian Kainoa Makoa Jr., with wife Leilani Mendoza. Many found this peculiar, as he was already a “senior” to his 35-year-old eldest son, Brian Jr., with Niko’s mom, Julie, 53.

The drama intensified in April 2024 when Brian Sr. publicly disowned his biological children, labeling them “a product of sin.” During an Instagram Q&A, he advised fans to “get rid of the evil and the negativity — even if that evil and negativity is related [to you]” to live a life you love. Niko was quick to clap back, taking his father to task online.

Later that April, Brian Sr. also pointed fingers at his ex-wife, Julie, alleging she blocked his attempts to help Niko during his cancer fight. A month later, Niko again blasted his father, and even fellow R&B legend Tyrese, who had stepped in to defend Brian Sr.’s decision to disown his kids.

Heartbreak: Brian McKnight’s Son Niko Loses Battle with Stage 4 Colon Cancer

Tragically, in the midst of this family turmoil, Brian McKnight’s son Niko McKnight passed away on May 29, 2025. His mother, Julie McKnight, shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram, confirming that her 32-year-old son had succumbed to a two-year battle with stage 4 colon cancer.

Julie shared a poignant photo of herself with Niko and Brian Jr., alongside a touching caption. She said:

“Nikolas was a cherished husband, son, brother, grandson, uncle, and nephew whose warmth, laughter, and love touched the lives of all who knew him. Nikolas was a self taught artist of music and photography. His passing is an immeasurable loss to his family and all those who held him dear.”

The grieving mother also requested privacy as the family navigated their immense loss. Following Niko’s passing, rumors began circulating that Brian Sr. made no attempt to reconcile with his son, nor did he reach out to the family in the aftermath.

Eventually, Brian McKnight Sr. did address his son’s death, but only after his ex-wife Julie and his own brother, Claude McKnight, publicly questioned his silence. He dismissed their comments as “tasteless.”

A Shocking Accusation: Brian McKnight Alleges Niko Was ‘Martyred’ in ‘Preventable’ Death

Seven months after Niko McKnight’s passing, the firestorm isn’t dying down. His mother, Julie McKnight, and brother, Brian McKnight Jr., are still calling out the “Back At One” singer. In a revealing interview with Marc Lamont Hill, Julie described her ex-husband as “belittling.” Brian Jr. went even further, accusing his father of refusing Niko’s dying wish to hear “I love you.”

During their conversation with Hill, the pair also tackled Brian Sr.’s inflammatory statements. He’d claimed they martyred Niko in a colon cancer death that was “preventable.” During a November 2025 interview with Anton Daniels, Brian Sr. insisted his son didn’t have to die. He began by saying:

“My mother loved my father to the day she died. But she went to her maiden name and they got divorced. My father got remarried. He’s been married for 40 years. This is a cycle that continues to happen. And I can’t speak for everybody else’s situation. The saddest part of this is that the younger one ended up dying.”

Daniels pressed him on the public reaction to his posts around Niko’s passing. Brian Sr. clarified his timing:

“God’s timing. That was the day that the judge told us what the amount was. It had nothing to do with that. But I will say this. I believe it’s God’s timing because Anton, he did not have to die. When we talked—and we did talk to him—we talked to his wife. We got to go back…

So, earlier that year, that May, he’s on BlkCosmo. He’s saying things like—now remember, they’ve lied on me, but they continue to double down and triple down on the rhetoric— ‘Oh, if my dad needed this, I wouldn’t do this for him. He’s dead to me, blah, blah, blah.’

Now we come to find out that three days after that’s when he got diagnosed. They waited because he didn’t have insurance. They waited four months to let us know. [After they found out that he was diagnosed] they waited four months.

According to all statistics, 91% of colon cancer diagnosis that are called early are curable. From the time he got diagnosed to the time we found out—because they didn’t tell us. I had to find out from somebody else. Then, I heard from them. We were the last to find out. So, once we found out, we sprung into action. ‘What can we do? Can we get the scans? Can we do this? Can we do that?’ Anton, by this time, it was stage four. Stage four.

So, you’ve lied on me. You don’t come to me. In my opinion, they martyred him so that they could keep this going. That’s what I truly believe. Everybody’s heard that voicemail. I will leave with you the messages that we sent. Leilani sent a message that said to his wife, ‘You don’t even have to tell him that it’s us. We just want to help whatever we can do.’ And then they’re like, ‘Well, he would have had to stay at your house and they wouldn’t have been able to see him.’ I’m like, ‘We never made that a stipulation.’

The facility that we found, the only one that would allow him to come, was closer to our house. That’s why we have an entire apartment downstairs with its own entrance. His wife wouldn’t have to work. You can take care of him all day. Leilani wanted to take care of him. And his mother sent that message after we sent the message to him. This is what happened.

And it gets worse. So, she puts out the book in January. She’s on an interview, I think in February, with Foxy 104.5 or whatever in Raleigh. They ask, ‘How he’s doing.’ She says, ‘He’s healed. He’s healing and he’s doing fine. He’s doing great.’ Now, realize they blocked us all on social media. We don’t know what’s going on with them. The next thing we know, he’s passed.

That message that I played for everybody was 20 months before he passed away. That was not near the end. It was still when something could be done at the very least to make him more comfortable. But you see, they ran out there immediately and said, ‘He never spoke to him. He didn’t come to him. Here’s all these messages on Twitter.’ I deactivated my Twitter four years ago or something like that. I don’t know. They didn’t tag me. Nobody could call. Everybody’s got my number. So, they could say, ‘He didn’t even…’ I didn’t know. Last I heard, you said, ‘He was doing great.’”

Julie and Brian Jr. Hit Back: Calling Brian McKnight’s Claims ‘Diabolical’ and ‘Evil’

Brian Jr. and Julie McKnight didn’t hold back their disgust at Brian Sr.’s “preventable” and “martyred” narrative. Brian Jr. exclaimed, “Do you understand how unbelievable that is?” Julie echoed, “When I heard that… There’s no other way to explain that as a mom then as Diabolical.” Brian Jr. then simply added, “Yeah, it’s evil.”

Julie elaborated on their perspective: “That is that is evil—first of all, my son, at that age, the diagnosis—which I want a lot of people to understand—which is a movement that we, and he and his wife, we want to be very clear—that when young people are diagnosed with colon cancer, by the time they’re diagnosed, they are stage four. So, when the comment was made that, ‘He was diagnosed…and then he was dead… He was diagnosed at stage 4.”

Brian Jr. challenged his father directly. “Ask my dad how many times he told us to go to the doctor. Ask my father how often he cared about any of those types of things. It was ‘preventable,’ right? What did you do to help?”

Marc Lamont Hill then interjected, summarizing Brian Sr.’s stance: “He says y’all didn’t have healthcare. He didn’t say why, but he said you all didn’t have healthcare. Basically, what I heard from it—I don’t want to put words in his mouth—was almost that y’all were irresponsible, that you didn’t have health coverage, and so you didn’t go to the doctor, and that’s why.”

Julie’s response was sharp:

“See, those for me are the petty comments that at this point, it absolutely belittles the amount of work that my daughter did once the diagnosis was made. You can’t just toss out that he was that sick. Niko had multiple things that started to happen with him, as a result of being stage four at his diagnosis. And he needed immediate care, emergency surgeries. I mean, surgery after—to hear, at the point where you want to say that we, because of you, are going to not, me as a mother, am going to purposely not care for my son to work your nerves? Who are you? And then to hear that we all the dis—you want to talk about disrespect?—to my daughter, to his wife, and to Niko…

And the last thing that anyone will remember of my son are any of the things that he wants to talk about. Any of the things that he wants to talk about, that will not be my child’s memory. It will not. It will constantly be that he was a good man. Constantly. He was amazing. He’s an amazing husband, son, talented, one of the top photographers in the game. Talk about that, man. Talk about that. Genius. Talk about that. You want to talk about that his life and the consistency of it and the totality of it is that he passed away from cancer and no one helped him? That is not the truth. I have no reason. I have no reason. It’s evil and that at this moment…”

Brian Sr. then reportedly interjected, stating his firm position: “It’s despicable. It’s evil. At this moment, to now want to act like you’re holy in some way? I’m not rocking with him.”

This family saga is getting heavy, #Socialites. What are your thoughts on these latest revelations? Sound off in the comments below!