Gladys Knight has said she is “healthy and happy” after her son accused her husband of elder abuse.
Shanga Hankerson, 49, alleged last week that the soul legend’s husband William McDowell, who is 33 years her junior, was mentally and financially abusing her with a “detrimental” touring schedule.
Knight, 81, is heading on tour in September, and in an interview on The Shade Room, Hankerson said: “I don’t want my mom out on a tour bus wondering where she’s at”. He said he has now filed a complaint with North Carolina’s Department of Human Services.
In response to the allegations, Knight has told The Independent that her “health and performances have been misrepresented.”
“I want my fans and those concerned to rest assured I am doing very well for someone who has been on stage for three quarters of a century, hard to believe, right?” she added. “I’m healthy and happy and visiting friends and family these last few months. I’m excited to get back on the road with my sisters and on stage with The Queens Tour. See you soon.”
McDowell was asked about the allegations in an appearance on Good Morning America, where he said he would let Knight’s statement speak for itself.
Hankerson, meanwhile, recently told People: “I did my best to give [McDowell] the space to play the role of husband and do what was in my mom’s best interest, and he has not done that. Why is she working? Why is she in this situation where she’s being made to believe that she has to work like this? That’s really my issue with it.”
He added that Knight has had memory struggles in recent years, but Knight’s publicist told People that she is “greatly saddened by Shanga’s unfounded allegations”, adding that he “has had no substantial contact with her”.
“She has not been on tour since June 1 and can’t wait to begin touring again in September,” the statement added. “At this time our lawyers have no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies due to Shanga’s defamatory comments.”
Hankerson labelled the statement as “inaccurate”, adding that his mother’s “deterioration has occurred over a period of years and is very evident”.
Knight is known as the ‘Empress of Soul’ and has won seven Grammy Awards, both solo and with her backing band The Pips. She recorded the original version of ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and scored huge hits with ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ and ‘That’s What Friends Are For’.
She was a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, and she was awarded with the Kennedy Center Honors a year earlier.