Gladys Knight’s Defamation Lawsuit Over Elder Abuse Claims

Gladys Knight has not filed a defamation lawsuit over the elder abuse claims her son made against her husband, but her representatives said in August 2025 that her attorneys had “no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies” after Shanga Hankerson publicly accused William McDowell of mental and financial abuse of the 81-year-old singer.¹ The language stopped short of announcing a filing. It signaled that lawyers were weighing one.

What Hankerson Publicly Claimed

Hankerson, Knight’s 49-year-old son, told multiple outlets in August 2025 that he believed McDowell was pushing his mother to keep touring despite what he described as cognitive decline. He said Knight had “zoned out” during performances, that stage staff had to rewind teleprompters because she forgot to look at them, and that she did not recognize him for 45 minutes during a New Year’s Day visit.²

He said Knight sometimes did not know “where, who she is” or where McDowell was.¹ He told interviewers, “This has nothing to do with money for me,” and said he was “trying to get her to stop working.”²

Hankerson also said he filed a formal complaint with the Department of Human Services in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where Knight and McDowell live, and that caseworkers visited the home the following day. He described the case as ongoing.³ The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told ABC News that complaints are confidential and it does not comment on investigations.¹

The Defamation Threat

Knight’s publicist, Laura Herlovich, called Hankerson’s allegations “unfounded” and said he had “no substantial contact” with his mother. The line that raised the possibility of litigation followed: “At this time our lawyers have no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies due to Shanga’s defamatory comments.”¹

McDowell himself declined to comment beyond Knight’s own statement.¹ No complaint had been filed in any court as of the available reporting. “Explore any and all legal remedies” is pre-litigation language: it puts a potential defendant on notice without committing the speaker to a claim, a filing date, or a forum.

Knight’s Own Response

On August 15, 2025, Knight issued a personal statement through ABC News and People. “I’m sorry that my health and performances have been misrepresented,” she said. “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.”³ She said she was looking forward to returning to “The Queens Tour.”

Hankerson pushed back on the publicist’s characterization of his access to his mother, saying it was “inaccurate” and that he had been “purposefully kept in a position of having minimal access” to her.³ He also indicated he intended to bring his own legal action against McDowell to stop Knight from working.⁴

Why a Suit Hasn’t Been Filed

A defamation claim would require Knight or McDowell to prove that Hankerson’s public statements about her health and his stepfather’s conduct were false and damaging. The North Carolina adult protective services complaint complicates that path. If caseworkers substantiated any part of Hankerson’s account, it would undercut a falsity claim; if they closed the file without action, that outcome is confidential under state practice, so neither side gets a public finding to point to.

Whether a suit follows may turn on two things: whether Hankerson keeps repeating the allegations publicly, and whether the North Carolina investigation produces anything that leaks or gets referenced in a filing. For now, the threat sits where Knight’s publicist left it.

The Capacity Claim Has Come Up Before

This is not the first time Hankerson has publicly questioned his mother’s mental state, and the earlier instance is directly relevant to how a defamation case would be argued. In the 2016 federal trademark suit Knight brought against Hankerson and his restaurant companies in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Case No. 1:16-cv-03160-LMM), Hankerson alleged that his mother lacked the “mental capacity” to have requested the removal of her name from the “Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles” restaurants.⁵

That case settled in early 2017, with Hankerson required to strip Knight’s name, likeness, and memorabilia from the restaurants by April 26, 2017.⁵ The capacity argument was never adjudicated. If Knight’s team does file a defamation complaint, expect the pattern to feature in it: her lawyers would likely argue that Hankerson has a documented history of raising capacity claims when he is in conflict with his mother, while Hankerson’s side would argue the recurrence is evidence of a longstanding concern rather than a litigation tactic.

Neither the 2025 abuse claims nor the defamation counter-threat has been tested in court. The available reporting shows a family in open conflict and a set of lawyers publicly weighing their options.