One of Brian McKnight’s biological children—whom he recently called a “product of sin”—is suffering from cancer.
The 54-year-old singer claims that he attempted to help his estranged son, Niko, who has stage four cancer, but that McKnight’s ex-wife, Julie, stopped him. According to Page Six, McKnight divulged the information to a fan during a Q&A on Instagram.
“Six months ago, we found out about this [Niko’s cancer diagnosis],” he reportedly said. “We called him. We talked to him, we talked to his wife. She told us that she was all alone and handling everything all by herself and it became quickly evident to us that since they didn’t have insurance and they didn’t have access to the proper doctors, naturally, we jumped into action.”
McKnight and his second wife, Leilani Mendoza purportedly set Niko up with “the best specialist in the country” to give his son the “best fighting chance.” He said that he found a treatment facility near his home and they paid for a spot for Niko.
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As he was gearing up to fly Niko and his wife to their home, Niko’s mom, Julie apparently called McKnight to stop him.
“I can only imagine that if that help came from me, that it would go against the strong narrative that’s being pushed out there about me,” Brian said. “So what are we doing? We’re adhering to her wishes because that’s what she wanted and we’re staying out of it.”
McKnight said he and his wife are “praying” for Niko.
Julie later issued a statement to Page Six. “This is, once again, a response to bait myself & my family into his false narrative. He is a liar.”
McKnight and Julie were married for 13 years before divorcing in 2003. He later married Mendoza in 2017, and the couple share a one-year-old son, Brian Kainoa Makoa Jr. Mendoza has two children from a previous relationship, Julia and Jack, and appears to recognize these three as his only kids.
News of Niko’s cancer follows recent comments McKnight made about his biological children, whom he called “pure evil” and said they "are a product of sin” on IG. He added, "I didn't raise them their mothers did.”
He came under fire for those remarks, as well as changing his legal name to reflect his toddler son's name.
