Latest news with #QueensTour
Metro
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Iconic singer, 81, looking at 'all legal remedies' after son's elder abuse claim
Gladys Knight is considering legal options after her son, Shanga Hankerson, branded her tour schedule 'detrimental' to her health. The 81-year-old legend is set to resume her Queens Tour in the US next month and has insisted she is 'healthy and happy' despite her son's claims. Hankerson, 49, alleged that Knight's husband William McDowell — who is 33 years her junior — was mentally and financially abusing her. He told The Shade Room: 'I don't want my mom out on tour on a tour bus wondering where she's at.' After this, Hankerson claimed he had filed a complaint with North Carolina's Department of Human Services and that an investigation is underway. Knight hit back at this and reassured worried fans that her health and the tour had 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 Independent. '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.' She told People she had been enjoying her time touring and was 'excited' to get back on the road for the autumn dates. However, Hankerson claimed that her memory is becoming a problem and that this touring is 'detrimental' to his mother. '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 alleged. '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 disagreement could escalate into a lawsuit as Knight's publicist said the James Bond singer was looking into 'any and all legal remedies' for his 'defamatory comments'. They also alleged that he 'has had no substantial contact with her'. Hankerson retorted that he is 'absolutely' ready to take this to court to make sure he can 'really take care' of his mother. 'This has nothing to do with money for me,' he insisted. 'I'm trying to get her to stop working.' Knight and McDowell married in 2001 after three months of dating but had known each other for around a decade. After releasing some tracks together, the couple regularly appear on red carpets together, including when she was awarded at the Kennedy Centre Honours, AMAs, Billboard Music Awards and BET Awards. More Trending Knight previously stated to Closer that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren 'love [McDowell] to death'. She is mum to three children, having welcomed Jimmy and Kenya in the early 60s with first husband James Newman, who she split with in 1973. Then she married Barry Hankerson, who is Shanga's father, the following year, but they broke up in 1979. Knight, known for hits like I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Midnight Train to Georgia, is touring throughout this year with Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
Los Angeles Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
We asked fans what being a 'queen' means to them at the Queens tour?
When the Queens Tour, featuring Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Stephanie Mills came through the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., we wanted to find out what fans thought a 'queen' was and what the title meant to them.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Stephanie Mills and Gladys Knight to reign on the Queens Tour
NEW YORK — Barclays Center will hold a royal court when four of the best R&B vocalists of all time bring the Queens Tour to Brooklyn on May 24. Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight will join fellow Grammy winners Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills as co-headliners of the national trek announced on Tuesday by the Black Promoters Collective. Officially billed as 'The Queens: Four Legends, One Stage,' the first leg of the tour will hit 11 cities in May and June, before picking up more dates this summer. Ticket presales begin at 10 a.m. on March 20 on with general sales starting the following day. 'Music is about connection, and this will be a celebration of the joy, power, and love that it brings to us all,' 71-year-old Khan said in a statement. 'Sharing the stage with my amazing sisters is an absolute honor.' Meanwhile, Mills — who made a triumphant return to Broadway last year in 'Hadestown' — promised fans an 'electrifying' show. 'Our different styles unite in love, compassion and understanding and it's important to come together now,' said the 67-year-old Brooklyn native. 'We can't wait to see you.' LaBelle, who still tours regularly at age 80 — with recent stops at New York area venues like the Kings Theatre and NJPAC — also shared her excitement to join 'these icons, who I call sisters.' Knight, also 80, praised the 'best sisters a woman could be blessed with,' saying they'll be coming together 'in support of one another and in harmony at a time when love is most needed.'
