Brian McKnight appeared to feel the heat from the internet roasting him, and he’s clapping back against the “deadbeat” allegations with receipts.
Source: Jason LaVeris / Getty
After the R&B singer’s family drama trended all over social media, he spoke out to defend himself. Brian took to Instagram to remind his critics that “there’s always more to every story.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr4d06usxll/?hl=en
“Not sure how these posts that have been sitting here this whole time were left out of the false narrative that is trending,” Brian wrote on May 5.
“Abandonment? There’s always more to every story. Stay tuned.”
Commenters noted that Brian’s bio and lengthy captions seemed to intentionally troll his Black biological kids as if they didn’t exist. Brian’s receipts were screenshots of other Instagram posts he claims show that this wasn’t always the case.
Brian highlighted captions on the throwback pictures from when he and his wife still acknowledged Brian Jr., Niko, and Briana McKnight online. BOSSIP dug deep to find the original posts from 2014 through 2018, so you don’t have to.
Check out the posts Brian claims “were left out of the false narrative” after the jump!
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BGTYsKiFcQL/?hl=en
“Spending my birthday with the 5 people I love the most in the world .. My family thank u baby for making this day the best it can possibly be along with every other day of the year you are my heart and it beats only for u I love you,” the songwriter wrote in June 2016.
Brian posed with Brian Jr., Niko, future wife Leilani Mendoza, and her kids from previous relationships, Julia and Kekoa. Even back then, the sweet sentiment didn’t quite curl over for some commenters.
The backlash began over social media sleuths claiming Brian’s posts pitted his blended family against each other. After Briana McKnight called out their estrangement in 2019, commenters clocked that it still excluded his other children. “Ouch 5 people? Cries in Bri McKnight,” one reply said.
The “Ready to Learn” crooner thanked Leilani for planning the family outing, which also included Brian Jr.’s son.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkI6nNNnXKQ/?hl=en
Leilani praised the musician with pictures from the same dinner in 2018 for Father’s Day.
“The way you father all our children ..love them with all your heart has changed their lives forever. Thank you for always making sure they know how proud you are of them and for always being there for them no matter what…it is because of you that they are the confident loving and successful children they are.
“You would give anything and everything ..move heaven and earth to make us happy . We are all grateful that you are the father that you are. Thank you for being the SUPERHERO of our OHANA…our kids are so blessed to have you babyyyyyy” she wrote.
Next, the screenshots showed the Grammy winner’s sons supporting his marriage to Leilani. His oldest sons suited up to be best men at his wedding in 2018.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbyRZPcBzjJ/?hl=en
“Two of my three best men are ready and tuxed up for the wedding !!!” he wrote, smiling between his oldest children.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdicmUKhFcX/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd0QjwoBTdG/?hl=en
If you scroll through Leilani’s Instagram, you’ll find even more holidays, birthdays, and vacations with Brian Jr., Niko, and Briana.
https://www.instagram.com/p/xUjWu9R5Qx/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/-popGBx5ep/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/9KqF0ux5WL/?hl=en
A picture is worth a thousand words, but the sweet family photos only addressed some of the allegations about the strained relationships between McKnight and his children.
See the other claims made by the singer’s celebrity seeds after the jump!
Do Brian McKnight’s Receipts Disprove The “False Narrative That Is Trending?”
The past photos of the happy family make the family fallout even more tragic. Instagram isn’t everything, but the screenshots show Brian and Leilani once embraced three of his kids in their happy blended family. She also had a selfie session in 2014 with “the cutest 2-year-old in the world,” who might be Brian’s unnamed younger daughter.
Although previous posts paint a different picture than the viral backlash, they don’t address all the controversial claims about the beloved ballad belter. McKnight’s fact-check that he didn’t “erase” the adult offspring from his archives still left questions about the recent captions called out for “being INTENTIONALLY nasty & antagonistic towards his biological children.”
Loving stepchildren like your own is beautiful, but it still shocked fans to say that he “became a girl dad” because of “the perfect daughter” he always wanted when he had two of his own.
Brian doesn’t owe the public an explanation about naming his youngest son Brian. Yet both older sons referenced how hurtful the deliberate dig about his new “namesake” was.
Niko claimed it was “spiteful” rather than a coincidence that Brian announced Leilani’s pregnancy with their first child on Brian Jr.’s birthday. He asked the relatives still in contact with his father to call out the “narcissistic, sociopathic” stunt last year.
“Any of my family on the mcknight side that is still in contact with my dad, Let him know he’s the biggest narcissistic, sociopathic *sshole for posting all of that sh*t on BJs bday. I know you’ve seen how spiteful he’s been since the falling out and I’m really tired of it,” Niko wrote on Facebook.
Briana McKnight referred to her two older brothers as her father figures, revealing, “‘Daddy’s little girl’ was never really a thing for me.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1NxrR-HG6g/?hl=en
“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,” Briana wrote.
“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,” she continued.
The issues between Briana and her dad appear to run DEEP.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfOYDYTsk_Q/
Do you believe Brian McKnight’s throwback receipts change the “narrative” about his biological children?
