August 18, 2025
Gladys Knight is shutting down her son’s claims of being mentally and financially abused by her husband.
Gladys Knight, 81, is speaking up following her son’s claims that she’s a victim of elder abuse at the hands of her husband.
According to the music icon’s son, Shanga Hankerson is being mentally and financially abused by her husband, William McDowell. But, the “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer, who’s currently performing live as part of The Queens Tour with fellow legends Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Stephanie Mills, released a statement via her publicist, Laura Herlovich, assuring fans that all is well.
“I’m sorry that my health and performances have been misrepresented,” Knight told People. “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? 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.”
Knight’s statement came days after her son criticized her busy touring schedule as “detrimental” to her health. While Knight hasn’t expressed a desire to stop performing, Hankerson claims she is “on cruise control” and pointed to recent alleged memory lapses. This past New Year’s, for example, he claims the legendary vocalist didn’t recognize him.
Hankerson also spoke with The Shade Room about an incident last year when Knight allegedly wandered away from their hotel and ended up across town.
Hankerson is accusing McDowell of letting his mother continue touring despite her alleged health issues.
“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,” Hankerson said. “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.”
But Knight’s publicist, Laura Herlovich, said Knight and her team are “greatly saddened by Shanga’s unfounded allegations,” and that he “has had no substantial contact with her.” As a result, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer plans to take “any and all legal remedies due to Shanga’s defamatory comments,” Herlovich said.
Hankerson remains adamant that Knight’s “deterioration has occurred over a period of years, and is very evident.” He is open to taking legal action against McDowell, whom Knight has been married to since 2001, saying he is “fighting to make sure I can really take care of” the singer.
He said the reason he hasn’t seen or spoken to his mother is because he has been “purposefully kept in a position of having minimal access” to her. “This has nothing to do with money for me,” Hankerson said. “I’m trying to get her to stop working.”
Gladys Knight rose to fame in the 1960s and ’70s as the lead singer of Gladys Knight & the Pips, performing with her brother and two cousins. She later enjoyed a successful solo career, winning three of her seven Grammy Awards as a solo artist.
Hankerson is Knight’s only child with ex-husband and record producer Barry Hankerson, whom she was marriedto from 1974 to 1979. She also has two other sons, James III and Kenya, with her first husband, James Newman (1960–1973). Knight was married to former Ohio representative Les Brown from 1995 to 1997 before marrying McDowell in 2001.
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