Brian McKnight has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, radio host Karen Clark and media company Urban One.
According to court documents reported by WBLS, the singer claims recent interviews and broadcast segments repeated accusations about his relationship with his family that he says are false and harmful.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. McKnight alleges the radio program shared statements that portrayed him as “emotionally abusive, mentally abusive and neglectful” toward his children.
McKnight is seeking $25,000 in compensatory damages for each claim as well as punitive damages.
The complaint focuses on interviews connected to the singer’s ongoing family conflict that aired in late 2025. One segment featured a conversation between Clark and Julie McKnight, McKnight’s ex-wife, on Foxy 107.1 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The discussion later circulated online and addressed the singer’s relationship with his older children.
McKnight’s filing argues that Clark asked leading questions and did not provide him an opportunity to respond.
The lawsuit also references a December 2025 segment featuring audio from McKnight’s eldest son, Brian McKnight Jr. In the clip, he alleged his father refused to tell his brother Niko he loved him while he was battling cancer.
Representatives for the show and Clark have not publicly responded.