In a deeply emotional television interview, Brian McKnight Jr. accused his father, R&B singer Brian McKnight, of refusing to tell his dying brother, Niko McKnight, that he loved him, a request Niko made while battling terminal cancer.
Final Moments Marked by Heartbreak
McKnight Jr. described the moment as “one of the darkest and coldest and most disheartening memories” of his life. He recalled his brother calling him, “sobbing … looking death in the eye,” after being told by their father that he “can’t arbitrarily say that I love you.”
“All my brother wanted, needed, asked for was my father to tell him he loves him,” McKnight Jr. said.
McKnight Jr. added with pain: “Because I knew where my dad was, I told [Niko], ‘Dad is gone.’”
Niko publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis in January 2024. He died in May 2025 at age 32.
Tension in the McKnight family has simmered for years. In 2023, Brian McKnight legally changed his name so it would match that of a newborn son with his wife. Later, he referred to his older biological children — including Brian Jr. and Niko — as “products of sin.”
McKnight has publicly stated he offered to help Niko during his illness, including a private care team and top oncologists. He claimed that Niko and his mother declined the help and that the ‘door of communication’ supposedly remained open until Niko’s death.
Still, McKnight Jr. and other family members reject that version of events. McKnight Jr. told Bernard Lamont Hill that he and Niko “worked our a—s off” whenever they toured with their father. He challenged earlier claims that they were “lazy and entitled,” saying they were simply young and working hard.
For McKnight Jr., the pain of loss is compounded by a final request left unmet. “He wanted to hear three words … and he didn’t get them,” McKnight Jr. said.
“It still cuts so deep,” he added.