Gladys Knight Shuts Down Her Son’s Elder Abuse Allegations

Gladys Knight says she’s “wholesome and comfortable” regardless of her son, Shanga Hankerson, claiming she’s a sufferer of elder abuse by her husband, William McDowell. She addressed the allegations in an announcement lately supplied to PEOPLE.

“I am sorry that my well being and performances have been misrepresented. I need my followers and people involved to relaxation assured I’m doing very nicely for somebody who has been on stage for 3 quarters of a century, arduous to imagine, proper?” she stated. “I am wholesome and comfortable and visiting family and friends these previous couple of months. I am excited to get again on the street with my sisters and on stage with The Queens Tour. See you quickly.”

Knight is 81 years previous. She has been performing with Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills on the The Queens Tour since Might. The group is scheduled to proceed performing via December. Hankerson lately claimed that this touring schedule is “detrimental” to her well being. He additionally claims she’s solely going together with it due to stress from McDowell.

In flip, Hankerson says he filed a criticism with the Division of Human Providers in Buncombe County, N.C., earlier this month. Explaining his allegations to The Shade Room for a latest interview, he stated: “I did my finest to present [McDowell] the house to play the position of husband and do what was in my mother’s finest curiosity, and he has not finished that. Why is she working? Why is she on this scenario the place she’s being made to imagine that she has to work like this? That’s actually my concern with it.”

Knight’s publicist, Laura Herlovich, additionally downplayed Hankerson’s complaints. She stated in an announcement to PEOPLE that the scenario has “tremendously saddened” Knight. “She has not been on tour since June 1 and may’t wait to start touring once more in September,” the assertion learn. “At the moment our attorneys don’t have any selection however to discover any and all authorized treatments resulting from Shanga’s defamatory feedback.”