Brian McKnight is taking legal action against Foxy 107.1, the station's owner, Urban One, and longtime on‑air host Karen Clark, over an interview they conducted with his ex‑wife, Julie McKnight, in January 2025. He is accusing the defendants of defamation, negligent and reckless publication, and vicarious liability, suggesting that they described him as an abusive, deadbeat dad, which he denies.
With the filing, as obtained by AllHipHop, McKnight claims that Julie used the interview to allege he was “emotionally abusive, mentally abusive, and a neglectful father." Additionally, McKnight says that, instead of remaining neutral, Karen Clark agreed with Julie and encouraged her accusations. He says Clark should've offered him a chance to respond or included a disclaimer.
On top of the complaints about Foxy 107.1, McKnight complained about another Urban One show, Rickey Smiley Morning Show, using a clip from another interview with McKnight’s eldest son, Brian McKnight Jr. In the clip, McKnight Jr. alleged that his father refused to tell his late son Niko that he loved him before he died of cancer. McKnight is seeking $25,000 in compensatory damages for each claim in addition to punitive damages.
Niko McKnight's Death
As for that last claim, McKnight Jr. made the accusation during an interview with Marc Lamont Hill in December. He recalled Niko contacting their father shortly before his death and the move allegedly backfiring. "One of the darkest and coldest and most disheartening memories of my life is the day my brother [Niko] calls me sobbing — with all he’s going through — looking death in the eye, to tell me I’m right about telling him not to call my father because I knew what was going to happen," McKnight Jr. said during the interview.
"Because I knew where my dad was, I told [Niko], 'Dad is gone,'" he continued. "All my brother wanted, needed, asked for was my father to tell him he loves him. My father responds to my brother, 'I can’t arbitrarily say that I love you.' But this is the man that wanted to help him?"
It isn't the only time McKnight has made headlines for his relationships with his children. Back in 2024, he labeled his children "evil" in a video on Instagram: “In order to live a life that you love, you have to get rid of the evil and the negativity — even if that evil and negativity is related [to you]," he said at the time, as caught by Page Six.
