Do they ever cross your mind? Brian McKnight went viral this weekend for seemingly erasing his adult children from his estranged adult children and starting “Back At One” with a second son named after him.
Source: Press / Brian McKnight
The R&B singer didn’t hide his new growing family or ongoing issues with his older children, but the extent of his family drama wasn’t exactly common knowledge until social media sleuths raised questions about seemingly shady captions. While McKnight’s celebrity seeds aren’t automatically the public’s business, his now-deleted captions piqued people’s interest, and they started digging.
Brian McKnight Names His “Namesake” Newborn Brian McKnight—Despite Already Having A Son Named Brian McKnight Jr.
A viral tweet kicked off the social media sleuthing.
“I just learned that Brian McKnight named his newborn Brian McKnight. He has an adult son named Brian McKnight Jr. This man is diabolical,” it read.
The post spurned video reactions and tweets from people confused [and disappointed] to hear the news.
McKnight’s defenders pointed out that celebs like George Foreman and Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris named multiple children after themselves, but that still doesn’t explain the over-the-top captions that make it seem like he’s never had a wife or kids before marrying his current wife, Leilani Mendoza, in 2017.
https://twitter.com/MariCeeCee98/status/1652548384954171392?s=20
Many comments claimed the posts laid it on too thick and carried a double meaning for the icon’s other children. Social media also suggested that the singer confirmed the trolling by swiftly deleting the lengthy captions and limiting the comments.
Unfortunately for the soulful singer, however, the screenshots were already viral.
“Dear Baby Brian, everytime I look at you and kiss on you, I’m feeling feelings that I did not know I could possess, an over abundance of love between a father and his legacy that cannot be measured,” McKnight previously wrote.
“I realized my true reason for being here on earth… to create the legacy of that love, my NAMESAKE, my JOY my baby boy, YOU!!” he concluded.
The extremely sweet caption read differently to fans who recalled he already had two sons, Brian McKnight Jr., and Niko, with his ex-wife of 13 years, Julie. He also reportedly has a daughter and son, Briana and Clyde, from previous relationships.
https://twitter.com/FZAFootball/status/1652895997893255168?s=20
The alleged online “antagonism” was much “More Than Words,” however, social media sleuths noted that the 53-year-old announced the pregnancy of the second Brian Jr. on the first Brian Jr.’s birthday, November 10.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkyvziIv-1x/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/ItsBMcKnight/status/531847849240457216
Another Twitter user already spotted that his bio only acknowledged Leilani’s children, even though they’re not all biologically his.
https://twitter.com/Tamantha_5/status/1524041705913298947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1524041705913298947%7Ctwgr%5E7b1d2744d025e15e68188ab67dfb64f1278a134d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fatlantablackstar.com%2F2023%2F01%2F24%2Fdoesnt-he-already-have-a-son-named-brian-brian-mcknight-faces-backlash-after-he-reveals-his-third-sons-name%2F
Check out Brian McKnight’s comments about his “perfect daughter” (who isn’t one of his biological daughters) after the flip.
Brian McKnight Says He “Became A Girl Dad” With “Perfect” Stepdaughter, Although He Has A Biological Daughter, Briana McKnight
Social media thinks there was plenty more shade to go around.
https://twitter.com/thejournalista/status/1652490560735961090?s=20
In 2019, McKnight complained about his “entitled” biological children but flexed with lavish gifts for the stepchildren. In another recently deleted caption, he called his stepdaughter Jules “the best daughter ever” as he gave her a new BMW. Many internet instigators couldn’t reconcile the disparity between McKnight’s devotion to one set of children and rumors of retaliation against the other offspring.
He also claimed he “became a girl dad” because of Jules, thanking her for being “the perfect daughter I always wanted.”
See what Brian McKnight’s ex-wife and estranged children have to say about him after the flip.
Brian McKnight’s Ex-Wife And “Disowned” Children Address Strained Relationships And Social Media Backlash
Julie McKnight responded to the social media scandal on her Instagram account. Instead of firing back, she discussed showing love to the children caught up in the family feud. The first Mrs. McKnight said she embraced all the children who bonded with her in the blended family.
“I soon realized that loving my son’s sisters came just as naturally as breathing. First, a beautiful little four-year-old girl danced into our lives and called me ‘mommy.’ Next, another perfect little girl who wore the same face as her older siblings”
“Sending so much love and support to all of you who have become a part of this journey. I appreciate you so so much. ‘Mama Bear’ has been birthed out of joy and pain. As a result, healing has begun. Sending so many blessings to you all and prayers that this book will bring solutions, closure and healing to those it touches,” she wrote.
In 2019, MADAMENOIRE reported that the singer’s daughter Briana McKnight publicly spoke about Brian’s alleged absence in her family’s lives.
“Nobody understands what I’ve been through except for my siblings,” she wrote. Despite the financial support Brian may have provided, Briana said she “grew up thinking that he doesn’t want to come to visit me because he doesn’t love me.”
Briana was still a teen in high school when she said her father hadn’t called for her birthday in years.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfOYDYTsk_Q/
“‘Daddy’s little girl’ was never really a thing for me. Nobody understands what I’ve been through except for my siblings. Believe it or not, I’m not always the person I seem to be. I’m not always happy and most of the time I’m battling my own demons just like everyone else. I grew up thinking that the things that happened to me and my dad’s relationship was my fault. I grew up thinking that he doesn’t want to come to visit me because he doesn’t love me. Constantly put behind other kids that he would call his own while I’m cast into a land far far away in the back of his mind,” Briana revealed.
“At a very young age, I was always second place in my father’s heart. Maybe even third, fourth, or fifth, depending on the situation. My father hasn’t called to wish me a ‘happy birthday’ in years and yet I sit by the phone every single year hoping that one day his heart will change. I’m so fortunate that I have two brothers who are father figures to me. Who celebrate me and love me every single day and that we make up the time that we lost. The anger and the sadness that I hold in my heart every day over this is sickening. It hurts knowing that my brothers went through this at my age (and are still going through it) and that my little sister is going through this at her young age,” she continued.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1NxrR-HG6g/
Brian McKnight Jr. also broke his silence in a now-deleted post, accusing his father of “abandoning” his children and grandchildren.
“I can’t imagine abandoning my children man. Its hard not to imagine the psyche of a man who can truly just turn his back on his actual sons, on his actual blood, and creations. It’s mind boggling to me. 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.”
Most recently, he shared a post of his inherited vocal abilities.
Check out more of the Twitter backlash about Brian McKnight after the flip!
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