‘I’m healthy and happy’: Gladys Knight responds after son accuses her husband of abuse

Gladys Knight is swearing to her fans that she's doing well after her son accused her husband of mental and financial abuse.

In an exclusive interview with People Magazine, the songstress's son, Shanga Hankerson, lodged a complaint against her husband, William McDowell, in North Carolina. He claimed that the singer has been on the road for her The Queens Tour since May because of him, noting that the schedule was “detrimental” to her health.

Gladys Knight, 81, has been touring alongside greats like Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Stephanie Mills. According to the outlet, she has 11 shows scheduled between September and December. In a statement to the magazine, she affirmed that she is in good spirits on her tour.

"I'm sorry that my health and performances have been misrepresented. I want my fans and those concerned to rest assured I am doing very well for someone who has been on stage for three quarters of a century, hard to believe, right?” she said. “I'm healthy and happy and visiting friends and family these last few months. I'm excited to get back on the road with my sisters and on stage with The Queens Tour. See you soon.”

Gladys Knight's son's concerns about her alleged ailing health explored:

As reported by Vibe, during a recent interview with The Shade Room, Shanga Hankerson and his former spouse, Gloria, claimed that William McDowell was exacting “elder abuse” on Gladys Knight. He also reportedly took the issue up with the authorities at the North Carolina Department of Human Services.

“I went and I hugged him and we hugged and he looked at me and he’s like ‘it’s so glad to see you.’ He said, ‘Shanga, it’s been so hard,'” Hankerson recounted of a reunion last year with Knight’s road manager, Larry Ward. “I have never seen Larry break down and cry like that…I said ‘Well what is it, Larry?’ and he couldn’t put [it] into words.”

He then described the performance on that night:

“The band played about two or three extra bars, and she zoned out. The background singers started singing, and that brought her back. They’re having to rewind the teleprompters because my mom is forgetting to look at them.”

He expressed concern for Gladys Knight's presence on stage as well as the quality of her performance, noting that during his sentencing, “she came to speak for me and she couldn’t form complete sentences and coherent thoughts." He was referring to his guilty plea in 2021 for failure to remit payroll taxes.

Furthermore, he recounted allegedly concerning text messages from his stepfather, where he claimed that Gladys Knight was suffering from “Sundowner’s Syndrome."

“I don’t want my mom out on tour on a tour bus wondering where she’s at. I don’t want that for her,” Hankerson expressed. ”That’s my mom, I truly love her. And don’t care about her ever working a second longer while she’s alive. The direction that she’s going in is pushing her to her departure, and I don’t want to see that.”

He echoed his sentiments in a statement to People Magazine, alleging that Gladys Knight is “on cruise control” and that she has been struggling with her memory in recent years. However, he did acknowledge that she never expressed a will to halt her tour.

“I did my best to give [McDowell] the space to play the role of husband and do what was in my mom’s best interest, and he has not done that. Why is she working? Why is she in this situation where she’s being made to believe that she has to work like this? That’s really my issue with it,” he said, according to the outlet.

Gladys Knight's publicist, Laura Herlovich, also issued a statement to People magazine, noting that the singer and her team are

“greatly saddened by Shanga’s unfounded allegations,” as he allegedly “has had no substantial contact with her.”

“She has not been on tour since June 1 and can't wait to begin touring again in September,” the statement read. “At this time our lawyers have no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies due to Shanga's defamatory comments." Hankerson rubbished the statement as "inaccurate," and claimed that he has been "purposefully kept in a position of having minimal access" to his mother, maintaining that her "deterioration has occurred over a period of years, and is very evident." He said, "They can say what they want. If her health has been misrepresented, then supply evidence of reliable and verifiable, expert medical opinion that will stake their practice and reputation on their claim to the contrary."

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