ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. — A pair of Urban One FM stations serving the Raleigh-Durham market with Adult R&B programming have become the target of a veteran singer and songwriter, on the grounds that an on-air personality, Urban One’s local management and the publicly traded company’s executive leadership are all responsible for the airing of defamatory statements.
For Brian McKnight, his relationships with his sons and ex-wife were the subject of conversation that damaged his good reputation.
McKnight, an R&B talent who is scheduled to perform February 28 at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, Calif., has become part of a “cancel culture” due to controversial words shared about his children from former wife Julie, who was wed to Brian from 1990 through 2003. In Mr. McKnight’s words, he referred to those children as “products of sin” and “evil.”
The matter was further exacerbated by Mr. McKnight’s legal name change to Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr., a nod to a son whose mother is McKnight’s second wife, Leilani.
This put the “Back At One” and “Love Is” singer in an unfavorable position with an increasing number of fans. And, it led WFXC-FM & WFXK-FM “FOXY” midday host Karen Clark to broadcast a recorded interview with Julie McKnight on or about January 23, 2025, to share her side of the story, as part of the promotion of Julie’s book Mama Bear: Beautifully Blended. The work includes accusations against Brian McKnight of neglect, abuse, dishonesty and intentional career interference.
That did not sit well with McKnight, who is represented by Ranchor Harris Law of Wake Forest, N.C. Urban One hired Raleigh-based attorney Lauren Johnson Nichols of Troutman Pepper Locke to represent the company and Clark in a lawsuit filed in a North Carolina Federal District Court on Friday (2/20).
A $100 million demand is the big takeaway from this case against “FOXY,” Clark and Urban One, collectively; the libel, assault and slander suit was moved from Wake County, N.C., Superior Court, to the federal level.
The interview as of January 21, 2026, remains publicly accessible via FOXY’s YouTube channel, and has been viewed approximately 3,600 times. In it, Mr. McKnight, who is a Georgia resident, was the subject of what he claims are “false and defamatory statements” linked to his role as a parent.
For Mr. McKnight, Clark’s role was not passive when it comes to how the interview with Julie McKnight was presented. “Karen Clark’s statements, questions, tone, and commentary were her own words and actions, not merely the repetition of another speaker’s statements, and were understood by listeners and viewers as factual assertions endorsed by her personally,” Brian McKnight said.
He also takes on Urban One for a December 15, 2025 episode of its Rickey Smiley Morning Show, which released a podcast entitled “Brian McKnight Jr. Shares The One
Thing His Dying Brother Niko Wanted From Their Father.”
Says Mr. McKnight, “Urban One knew or should have known that the allegations concerning Plaintiff were disputed, incomplete, and defamatory, yet nevertheless chose to republish them without verification, correction, disclaimer, or opportunity for Plaintiff to respond.”
