Brian McKnight’s Son Shares Cryptic Post About ‘Narcissist’ Family

One of Brian McKnight’s sons appears to be taking a stand against his estranged father.

“A narcissist would rather play happy families with their new supply’s children than take care of their own,” a black and white image shared by Brian McKnight Jr. on Saturday, June 7, read. The message has been perceived to be a shot at his father, who is estranged from the children he shares with ex-wife Julie McKnight.

After their divorce in 2003, McKnight Sr. moved on with Leilani Mendoza and the pair wed in 2017. Mendoza has two children, Julia and Jack, who McKnight, Sr., has claimed as his own — an apparent reference McKnight Jr. was seemingly making.

Us Weekly has reached out to representatives for McKnight Sr. for comment.

Mendoza was pregnant with the couple’s first child together, Kekoa Matteo, when they got married (Kekoa died in infancy in 2022). They have since welcomed their son, Brian Kainoa Makoa, Jr.

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In May, McKnight Sr. lost his son, Niko, to cancer. News of Niko’s death was shared by his uncle Claude McKnight, in a three-minute video posted via TikTok. Claude acknowledged that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to address Niko’s passing in the midst of the family’s strife.

Claude also said he doesn’t generally “post a lot of really, really serious subject things or certainly family things” but that “I wanted to post this about Niko, about his legacy, about how amazing he is — and not about what some of you may have heard about, you know, the family drama that has existed for quite some time in our family.”

“This is not the time of the play, but what I will say is, in any situation there’s always at least three sides to a story. There’s my side, your side, and the truth. And the truth, a lot of times, is somewhere in between,” Claude explained

Months after Niko revealed his cancer diagnosis in January 2024, the elder McKnight referred to his four older children (he and Julie also share son Clyde and daughter Briana) as a “product of sin” in a video shared on Instagram.

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McKnight Sr. also responded to Claude’s video June 3, sharing an Instagram Reel in which he criticized Claude and his older children.

“A big big thanks to Claude Mcknight’s tasteless and self aggrandizing announcement on TikTok, that frankly was not his to make, in my opinion, he inserted himself and used Niko’s death as an opportunity, instead of letting him pass with respect and dignity,” McKnight Sr. said at the time. “It has instead turned into a circus, a mockery of a life now lost, making this tragedy into a reality show type drama.”

“The last time [Niko] and I spoke, we offered him all the help we could provide, we had the number one oncologist on deck for him and a team of specialists on standby with private care in our home,” he continued. “He and his mother declined. The door of communication was open and remained open until his death. To the self proclaimed ‘mama bear’ may God have mercy on your soul for not allowing him to accept that help and not allowing him to use that line of communication.”