Gladys Knight has assured followers her psychological well being is simply wonderful after some issues sparked by her son.
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The soul music legend is talking out after her eldest son, Shanga Hankerson, claimed his mom was dealing with elder abuse from her much-younger husband, William McDowell. In line with Knight, these claims couldn’t be farther from the reality.
“I’m sorry that my well being and performances have been misrepresented,” she stated in an announcement, per The Put up. “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, onerous to imagine, proper?”
The songstress continued, “I’m wholesome and completely satisfied and visiting family and friends these previous couple of months. I’m excited to get again on the street with my sisters and on stage with The Queens Tour. See you quickly.”
Along with Knight’s assertion, her publicist, Laura Herlovich, additionally debunked the rumors, telling the outlet that the legendary singer and her group are “tremendously saddened by Shanga’s unfounded allegations, particularly as he has had no substantial contact together with her.”
She added, “Right now our legal professionals haven’t any selection however to discover any and all authorized treatments attributable to Shanga’s defamatory feedback.”
Knight’s rebuttal got here after Hankerson, 49, claimed that his mom was being subjected to elder abuse by the hands of McDowell. He made such claims throughout an interview with The Shade Room, alleging McDowell was forcing Knight to tour regardless of her declining well being.
“I did my greatest to provide [McDowell] the area to play the position of husband and do what was in my mother’s greatest curiosity, and he has not accomplished that,” he alleged on the time. “Why is she working? Why is she on this state of affairs the place she’s being made to imagine that she has to work like this? That’s actually my subject with it.”
Hankerson went on to recall a time when the “Each Beat of My Coronary heart” singer allegedly “zoned out” whereas performing together with her band.
“The band performed about two or three additional bars. And she or he zoned out. The background singer began singing … and that introduced her again,” Hankerson defined. “They’re having to rewind the teleprompters as a result of my mother is forgetting to even have a look at them.”
Knight and McDowell, who’s reportedly 33 years youthful than the soul singer, acquired married in 2001.
Along with Shanga, who she shares with music government Barry Hankerson, the seven-time Grammy winner additionally has daughter Kenya Newman, 62, and late son James Newman III together with her first ex-husband, James Newman.
Knight was additionally married to Shanga’s father, Barry, from 1974 to 1979; and former Ohio consultant Les Brown, from 1995 to 1997.
