{"id":187100,"date":"2025-08-15T18:16:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T18:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/gladys-knight-denies-abuse-claims-against-husband-william-mcdowell\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T18:16:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T18:16:46","slug":"gladys-knight-denies-abuse-claims-against-husband-william-mcdowell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/gladys-knight-denies-abuse-claims-against-husband-william-mcdowell\/","title":{"rendered":"Gladys Knight Denies Abuse Claims Against Husband William McDowell"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Gladys Knight<\/strong><\/a> is pushing back at her son\u2019s claims that her husband, William McDowell<\/strong>, has inflicted \u201cmental and financial\u201d abuse on her.<\/p>\n

Knight, 81, assured fans she is \u201chealthy and happy\u201d as she continues her Queens Tour alongside Chaka Khan<\/strong><\/a>, Patti LaBelle<\/strong><\/a> and Stephanie Mills<\/strong>. Her statement comes after her son, Shanga Hankerson<\/strong>, expressed to People<\/em><\/a> that he was concerned for her well-being on the tour, calling it \u201cdetrimental\u201d to her health.<\/p>\n

He added in an interview published Friday, August 15, that McDowell urged her to take on the endeavor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry that my health and performances have been misrepresented,\u201d Knight said in a statement shared with Us Weekly<\/em>. \u201cI 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? I\u2019m healthy and happy and visiting friends and family these last few months. I\u2019m excited to get back on the road with my sisters and on stage with The Queens Tour. See you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Chaka Khan\u2019s Daughter Is \u2018Singing and Dancing\u2019 Over Diddy\u2019s \u2018Demise\u2019<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tMaury Phillips\/Getty Images Chaka Khan\u2019s daughter, Indira, says she\u2019s \u201csinging and dancing\u201d with happiness amid Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs\u2019 legal drama. After Diddy posted an Instagram video on Sunday, May 19, apologizing for his assault on ex-girlfriend Casandra \u201cCassie\u201d Ventura, Indira, 51 \u2014\u00a0a singer, like her mother \u2014\u00a0shared her feelings on the situation in the comments [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hankerson, 49, said he fears his mother is operating on \u201ccruise control.\u201d He told The Shade Room<\/em><\/a> earlier in the week that he was concerned about her memory, citing a time Knight allegedly wandered off from her hotel room before turning up \u201cacross town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want my mom out on tour on a tour bus, wondering where she\u2019s at,\u201d Hankerson said in the Wednesday, August 13, story. \u201cI don\u2019t want that for her. That\u2019s my mom, I truly love her and don\u2019t care about her ever working a second longer while she\u2019s alive. The direction that she\u2019s going in is pushing her to her departure, and I don\u2019t want to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to People<\/em>, Hankerson accused McDowell of \u201cmental and financial\u201d abuse toward his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did my best to give [McDowell] the space to play the role of husband and do what was in my mom\u2019s best interest, and he has not done that,\u201d Hankerson said. \u201cWhy is she working? Why is she in this situation where she\u2019s being made to believe that she has to work like this? That\u2019s really my issue with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told People<\/em> that he filed a complaint with the Department of Human Services in Buncombe County, North Carolina, earlier this month and that case workers arrived at Knight\u2019s home the next day. He said the investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n

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