Brian McKnight has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, North Carolina radio host Karen Clark, and media company Urban One, escalating a years-long public dispute involving his ex-wife and estranged children into the courtroom.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, centers on broadcast interviews and segments that McKnight says falsely portrayed him as an abusive and neglectful father. McKnight alleges the defendants aired and amplified unverified accusations that painted him as "emotionally abusive, mentally abusive, and neglectful." He is seeking $25,000 in compensatory damages for each claim, along with punitive damages.

The legal action targets two specific broadcasts. The first is a January 2025 interview Clark conducted with McKnight's ex-wife, Julie McKnight, on Foxy 107.1 in Raleigh. During the segment, Julie alleged that McKnight forced her and their young children out of their home when the kids were toddlers and accused the singer of spreading lies about their family. McKnight's complaint argues that Clark failed to remain impartial during the conversation, instead co-signing his ex-wife's allegations through leading questions and affirmative responses. He also claims the station never reached out to him for comment or added a disclaimer.

The second broadcast in question is a December 15, 2025, episode of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show that featured audio from a separate interview with McKnight's eldest son, Brian McKnight Jr. In the clip, McKnight Jr. alleged that his father refused to tell his brother Niko that he loved him while Niko was dying of cancer in May 2025 at the age of 32. McKnight's lawsuit argues that the show aired the clip without proper context and that on-air reactions reinforced what he calls a misleading narrative about his relationship with his children.

McKnight's complaint accuses all parties of defamation, negligent and reckless publication, and vicarious liability.

The lawsuit is the latest chapter in a saga that has followed McKnight for years. In 2024, the "Back at One" singer drew widespread backlash after referring to his estranged children as "products of sin" on social media. The fallout has included canceled concert dates, public criticism from industry figures like Tyrese Gibson and Marc Lamont Hill, and an ongoing wave of social media scrutiny.

Earlier this year, McKnight publicly celebrated an $8.8 million default judgment in a separate defamation case against Julie McKnight tied to statements in her memoir. That post landed on what would have been Niko's 33rd birthday, drawing additional criticism.

McKnight has previously accused Rickey Smiley of spreading what he calls "false narratives" and presenting "a one-way uninformed perspective" about his family situation, blaming the host in part for at least one canceled concert in 2024.