Soul legend Gladys Knight has broken her silence after her son publicly accused her husband of elder abuse.
The “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer, 81, assured fans she’s “healthy and happy” after her son Shanga Hankerson claimed that Knight’s husband William McDowell — who is 33 years her junior — has been mentally and financially taking advantage of her.
“I don’t want my mom out on tour on a tour bus wondering where she’s at,” Hankerson recently told The Shade Room, saying his mother’s tour schedule — which is set to resume in September — is “detrimental” to her health.
Knight has since responded to her son’s claims, telling People in a statement that her “health and performances have been misrepresented.”
“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?” she told the outlet.
“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.”
Following his allegations, Hankerson said he has filed a complaint with North Carolina’s Department of Human Services.
The Post has reached out to the department and Knight’s reps for further comment.
During an appearance on Good Morning America last week, McDowell, 48, said he will not be weighing in on the discourse after Hankerson claimed that his mother is touring at her husband’s insistence.
While he admitted that his mother has never expressed a desire to quit performing, Hankerson alleged that his mother is currently “on cruise control.”
“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,” he told People.
“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.”
The 49-year-old also claimed that his famous mother had struggled with her memory in recent years.
In response, reps for Knight told the outlet that her team is “greatly saddened by Shanga’s unfounded allegations,” adding that he allegedly “has had no substantial contact with her.”
“She has not been on tour since June 1 and can’t wait to begin touring again in September,” they told the outlet. “At this time our lawyers have no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies due to Shanga’s defamatory comments.”
In response, Hankerson slammed the statement as “inaccurate,” saying he has been “purposefully kept in a position of having minimal access” to the “Missing You” hitmaker.
“This has nothing to do with money for me,” he said. “I’m trying to get her to stop working.”
Knight tied the knot with McDowell in 2001. She was previously married to James Newman from 1960 to 1973. The exes share son James III and daughter Kenya.
The singer later married Hankerson’s father, record producer Barry Hankerson, in 1974. The pair parted ways just five years later.
In 1995, she wed former Ohio representative Les Brown, though the pair’s ill-fated union crumbled in 1997.
