Gladys Knight’s family and inner circle don’t see eye to eye on her condition

No performer, even one of the greatest voices in American music, can be expected to be at the top of their game in their 80s, but there was something about the way Gladys Knight appeared disoriented at one of her summer concerts that sounded alarm bells that have kept ringing.

In videos captured and shared on social media from the August gig, the “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer wandered around on stage as the music to her hit played in the background and her backup singers performed the main vocals. At one point, she stood with her back to the audience. As social media was flooded with messages of concern, a statement appeared on the Grammy winner’s social media accounts , stating she would “be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward.”

Her son, Shanga Hankerson, didn’t believe the statement, nor did he believe his mother wrote it herself.

“That was a lie,” Hankerson, who has not seen his mother in person in more than a year, said. “It was something to keep the train moving. It wasn’t real.”

Knight has taken the stage seven times since the release of her statement, most recently on October 10 in Atlantic City for a set that included some of her biggest hits. She has two additional dates booked through November, according to her website.

Knight is one of several aging music legends who have recently been the center of concerned conversation after on-stage appearances.

What the public has debated online about Knight is, at its heart, what appears to be a private family struggle, one that began long before the video went viral. Interviews with relatives and employees reveal two competing portraits of the 82-year-old’s condition, with some worried about her cognitive health. Knight has not publicly disclosed that she has been diagnosed with any medical conditions.

In one, she is a woman in decline who is being kept on the road, according to her family members. In the other, she is exactly where she wants to be: In the spotlight, doing the only thing she has ever wanted to do.

Both Knight and her husband/manager William McDowell were contacted by CNN for comment.

Initially, Laura Herlovich, Knight’s publicist, referred to the singer’s statement posted on social media as a response to this story. When told it contained discussion and reporting about Knight’s cognitive health, including that her sister, Brenda Knight Clark, said the star is receiving medication often given to those with dementia, Herlovich said via email, “Gladys would feel betrayed by her family discussing her personal life with the media.”

“She nor her team will have any further comment,” she added.

Gladys Maria Knight has spent her life on stage, having first sang in public as a four-year-old at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Atlanta. By the 1960s she was a Motown recording artist, fronting Gladys Knight and the Pips alongside her brother, Merald “Bubba” Knight Jr.

Her body of work is more vast and expansive than can properly be described to a generation used to siloed and streamed musical experiences.

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Her son, Hankerson, says the woman the world has known and that he knows has been slipping away.

He says his mother has had memory problems for some time, struggles to form full sentences and last year did not seem to recognize him.

“It’s been a long period of time that there’s been a decline,” he said. “She’s basically been sequestered from all of her family for the most part. It’s hard to deal with.”

He tells CNN he hasn’t seen her in person since New Year’s Day 2025, when he brought his children to visit her at her home in Asheville, North Carolina. He blames McDowell for keeping her on the road and feels his mother has been “manipulated” into wanting to continue performing on stage.

“I know that she enjoys performing and making people happy, but I also know that she enjoys her free time and being able to do things with family and things like that,” he said. “One of our things was cooking, and with the condition that she’s in mentally, she can’t even cook anymore.”

Hankerson says he knows some will question his motives.

In 2021, he was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by a year of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution for willfully failing to remit payroll taxes tied to Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles restaurant in Atlanta.

“It’s not about money for me,” said Hankerson, who has expressed that his contentious relationship with McDowell has made it difficult to spend time with Knight. “It is about money from the standpoint of resources to make sure that she is taken care of with the money that she earned.”

Knight’s older sister Clark shares his fear.

She said McDowell sent the singer, accompanied by an assistant, to visit her in Las Vegas a few months ago and “she wasn’t in good shape.”

According to Clark, she was instructed by the assistant that she was to give her sister two pills at bedtime. When she looked them up, she told CNN, one was Memantine, which manages symptoms of moderate to severe dementia in people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the FDA.

“It has gotten progressively worse,” she said.

Based on the incident with the medication and what she has seen, Clark said she is certain of what her sister is dealing with.

“She has dementia,” Clark said. “I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve witnessed it.”

Neither Knight or her husband has shared such a medical diagnosis publicly.

In August, McDowell told TMZ “No one is ever gonna make me say, ‘My wife is well,’ but all she wants to do is sing” and reiterated that his wife had not been diagnosed with dementia, though he added that she would soon be seeing a doctor to get evaluated.

It’s unclear if that evaluation has taken place. Multiple attempts to reach McDowell for comment were unsuccessful.

Others close to Knight describe a different scene than an ailing star.

Charles Barnwell, her driver of roughly 15 years, doesn’t deny the memory problems. But he insists that no one is forcing her onto the stage.

“What’s amazing to me is she can still get on that stage and sing. Now she’ll lose her place here from time to time, but I see a lot of artists do that,” he said. “She’s always told me that as long as she has her voice, she wants to sing. She can’t imagine doing anything else.”

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He said “Ms. G,” as he affectionately calls her, doesn’t need the money. She tours because she loves it, and her voice is a “gift from God” that has “moved people around the world.”

Barnwell, who is her current driver, says her team understands what she is facing because so many of them have faced it at home.

“We all got family members that have gone through this and you can’t hide it,” Barnwell said. “My point is singing is all she has left now.”

Those who have seen her recently describe a performer in command.

Photographer Andrew Agresta Jr., who shot her August show in Huntsville, Alabama, described her as an engaged performer whose voice was “really strong.”

Dave Zane, a guitarist with The Buckinghams for 16 years who watched her perform last month in Shipshewana, Indiana, said the show was “excellent” and said Knight was radiant with joy.

He has shared stages with many artists in their eighties and understands why they keep going.

“Media can be real cruel sometimes, but when somebody has done this their whole life, for people to say they should just step away, music is their whole life, you know,” he said.

Yuko Tamura, Knight’s keyboardist since 2006, agrees.

“This is her life. This is her happiness,” Tamura said, adding that the band has come to be like Knight’s family. “This gives her energy and it’s more like a therapy, too.”

Knight is one of several iconic performers whose recent tours had to be cut short.

Lionel Richie, 77, and Rod Stewart, 81, have been open about their medical challenges.

Richie had to cancel some concerts this summer after falling ill and later announced that he would be taking a break following a procedure he had for a heart issue known as atrial fibrillation, or A-fib. A representative told the AP he hoped to be “back on stage soon.”

Stewart almost passed out during a June concert in West Valley City, Utah and took some weeks off from touring to recuperate, after a heart stent procedure, according to a statement from his representative. He has announced plans to tour again in 2027.

This month, the Beach Boys’ Mike Love, 85, sparked concern after being described as looking “alarmingly frail” as he sat on stage at a recent Beach Boys concert.

In an email statement to the New York Times, which did not directly address his health challenges, Love said he’s “putting my full energy into rehab so I can get back to the music and the best fans in the world.”

Love’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

Longtime music critic J. D. Considine, who has written for publications like Rolling Stone, the New York Times and the Washington Post, said that professional artists “keep performing because that’s what you’ve always done and that’s what makes you feel who you are.”

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For those like Knight who have been doing it for so long, it can also be difficult to let go of the sheer energy of performing, according to Molly Mary O’Brien, a music writer who also runs the site I Enjoy Music.

“If you have been performing music and playing music for your entire life at an extremely high level, I can see it being something where this is what you know and to stop doing that would feel wrong in your life,” O’Brien said. “I do think there might be some kind of animating force to the concept of getting up and playing shows and either touring or doing residencies that gives them life.”

即使是美国音乐界最伟大的歌手之一，也不能指望任何表演者在 80 多岁时还能保持巅峰状态，但格拉迪斯·奈特在她的一场夏季音乐会上显得有些神情恍惚，这敲响了警钟，而且警钟一直持续响起。

在8月份演出期间拍摄并分享到社交媒体的视频中，这位《午夜列车驶向乔治亚》的演唱者在舞台上四处走动，背景音乐播放着她的热门歌曲，伴唱歌手则演唱着主唱部分。有一段时间，她背对着观众站立。社交媒体上充斥着担忧的信息，这位格莱美奖得主随后在其社交媒体账号上发表声明，表示她将“逐渐减少演出，专注于过渡到我事业和人生的下一个阶段”。

她的儿子尚加·汉克森不相信这份声明，也不相信这是他母亲亲笔所写。

“那是谎言，”汉克森说道，他已经一年多没见过自己的母亲了。“那只是为了让火车继续行驶而编造的谎言。那不是真的。”

自发表声明以来，奈特已登台演出七次，最近一次是在10月10日于大西洋城，演唱了她的一些热门歌曲。根据她的网站显示，她11月之前还有两场演出安排。

奈特是几位年迈的音乐传奇人物之一，他们最近在舞台上的表现引发了人们的关注。

公众在网上对奈特的讨论，归根结底，似乎是一场私密的家庭纷争，这场纷争早在视频疯传之前就已经开始。对奈特的亲属和员工的采访揭示了人们对这位82岁老人状况的两种截然不同的看法，一些人担心她的认知能力。奈特本人从未公开透露过她被诊断出患有任何疾病。

在一个版本中，据她的家人说，她是一位日渐衰落、被迫继续巡演的女性。而在另一个版本中，她正处于自己梦寐以求的位置：聚光灯下，做着她一直以来唯一想做的事情。

CNN联系了奈特和她的丈夫/经纪人威廉·麦克道尔，请他们对此事发表评论。

最初，格拉迪斯·奈特的公关劳拉·赫洛维奇称，奈特在社交媒体上发表的声明是对这篇报道的回应。但当她得知声明中包含有关奈特认知健康状况的讨论和报道，包括她的妹妹布伦达·奈特·克拉克透露奈特正在服用通常用于治疗痴呆症的药物时，赫洛维奇通过电子邮件表示：“格拉迪斯会觉得家人向媒体谈论她的私生活是对她的背叛。”

她补充说：“她和她的团队将不会再发表任何评论。”

格拉迪斯·玛丽亚·奈特一生都在舞台上度过，她四岁时就在亚特兰大的摩利亚山浸信会教堂首次公开演唱。到了 20 世纪 60 年代，她成为摩城唱片公司的签约艺人，与她的哥哥梅拉尔德·“巴布巴”·奈特二世一起组建了格拉迪斯·奈特和皮普斯乐队。

她的作品浩瀚无垠，远非习惯于孤​​立和流媒体音乐体验的一代人所能恰当描述。

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她的儿子汉克森说，世人所熟知的、他所认识的那个女人，正在渐渐消失。

他说他的母亲已经有一段时间记忆力衰退，说话也变得困难，去年似乎已经认不出他了。

“她的身体状况持续恶化已经很久了，”他说。“她基本上与所有家人都隔绝了。这让人很难接受。”

他告诉CNN，自2025年元旦以来，他就再也没见过母亲。那天他带着孩子们去北卡罗来纳州阿什维尔的家中探望她。他指责麦克道尔让她一直奔波在外，并认为母亲是被“操纵”才想继续登台表演的。

“我知道她喜欢表演，喜欢带给人们快乐，但我也知道她很享受自己的空闲时间，喜欢和家人一起做各种事情，”他说。“我们以前经常一起做饭，但现在她的精神状况不允许她再做饭了。”

汉克森说他知道有些人会质疑他的动机。

2021 年，他因故意不缴纳与亚特兰大 Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles 餐厅相关的工资税而被判处两年监禁，随后一年监管释放，并被勒令支付超过 100 万美元的赔偿金。

“对我来说，这不是钱的问题，”汉克森说道。他曾表示，自己与麦克道尔的紧张关系让他很难抽出时间陪伴奈特。“从资源角度来说，这关乎金钱，我要确保她能用自己挣来的钱得到妥善照顾。”

奈特的姐姐克拉克也和他一样感到害怕。

她说，几个月前，麦克道尔派这位歌手带着一名助理去拉斯维加斯看望她，“她当时身体状况不太好”。

据克拉克称，助理指示她睡前给妹妹服用两片药。她告诉CNN，她查阅了这些药的成分，其中一种是美金刚，根据美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的说法，这种药可以控制阿尔茨海默病患者中度至重度痴呆的症状。

“情况越来越糟了，”她说。

根据药物事件和她所看到的情况，克拉克说她确信她姐姐正在经历什么。

“她患有老年痴呆症，”克拉克说。“我不在乎别人怎么说。我亲眼所见。”

奈特和她的丈夫都没有公开透露过这样的医疗诊断结果。

8 月，麦克道尔告诉 TMZ，“没有人能让我说‘我妻子很好’，但她只想唱歌”，并重申他的妻子尚未被诊断出患有痴呆症，但他补充说，她很快将去看医生进行评估。

目前尚不清楚是否已进行过评估。多次尝试联系麦克道尔置评均未成功。

与奈特关系密切的人所描述的情况与一位病重的明星截然不同。

查尔斯·巴恩韦尔是她大约15年的司机，他不否认她存在记忆问题。但他坚称，没有人强迫她上台。

“最让我惊讶的是，她还能登上舞台唱歌。当然，她偶尔会错过在这里的演出，但我见过很多艺术家都会这样，”他说。“她总是告诉我，只要她还能唱歌，她就想唱。她无法想象自己去做其他任何事。”

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

他说，他亲切地称呼她为“G女士”，她并不缺钱。她巡演是因为她热爱这份工作，她的嗓音是“上帝的恩赐”，感动了“世界各地的人们”。

巴恩韦尔是她目前的司机，他说她的团队理解她所面临的处境，因为他们中的许多人都曾在家乡经历过同样的处境。

“我们每个人家里都有人经历过这种事，这是无法掩盖的，”巴恩韦尔说。“我的意思是，唱歌是她现在唯一剩下的东西了。”

最近看过她表演的人都说她是一位极具掌控力的表演者。

摄影师 Andrew Agresta Jr. 拍摄了她在阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔的八月份演出，他形容她是一位投入的表演者，嗓音“非常洪亮”。

戴夫·赞恩 (Dave Zane) 是白金汉乐队 (The Buckinghams) 的吉他手，已经和她一起演奏了 16 年。上个月，他在印第安纳州希普舍瓦纳 (Shipshewana) 观看了她的演出。赞恩说，演出“非常精彩”，并说奈特容光焕发，喜悦之情溢于言表。

他曾与许多八十多岁的艺术家同台演出，因此他理解他们为何坚持不懈。

“媒体有时真的很残酷，但当一个人把一生都投入到音乐中时，人们却说他应该退出，要知道音乐就是他的一切，”他说。

自 2006 年以来一直是 Knight 乐队键盘手的 Yuko Tamura 也同意这一观点。

“这就是她的生活，这就是她的快乐，”田村说道，并补充说乐队对奈特来说就像家人一样。“这给了她能量，也更像是一种疗愈。”

奈特是近期巡演被迫缩短的几位标志性表演者之一。

77岁的莱昂内尔·里奇和81岁的罗德·斯图尔特都曾公开谈论过他们的健康问题。

今年夏天，里奇因病取消了一些演唱会，之后又宣布在接受治疗心房颤动（房颤）的手术后将休息一段时间。他的发言人告诉美联社，他希望“很快就能重返舞台”。

据其经纪人发表的声明，斯图尔特在六月份于犹他州西谷市举行的一场演唱会上险些晕倒，之后接受了心脏支架手术，并因此暂停巡演数周进行休养。他已宣布计划于2027年再次开启巡演。

本月，85 岁的海滩男孩乐队成员迈克·洛夫 (Mike Love) 在最近的一场海滩男孩演唱会上坐在舞台上，被形容为“看起来非常虚弱”，这引发了人们的担忧。

在发给《纽约时报》的一封电子邮件声明中，洛夫没有直接提及他的健康问题，只是说他“正在全力以赴地进行康复治疗，以便能够重返乐坛，回到世界上最好的歌迷身边”。

Love的代表没有回应置评请求。

长期担任音乐评论家的 JD Considine 曾为《滚石》杂志、《纽约时报》和《华盛顿邮报》等刊物撰稿，他表示，专业艺术家“之所以继续表演，是因为这是他们一直以来所做的事情，也是让他们感受到自我价值的事情。”

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据音乐作家兼网站 I Enjoy Music 的运营者 Molly Mary O'Brien 称，对于像 Knight 这样长期从事表演的人来说，要放下表演的纯粹能量也很难。

奥布莱恩说：“如果你一生都在以极高的水平表演和演奏音乐，我能理解这对你来说意味着什么，因为这就是你熟悉的一切，停止这一切会让你觉得人生出了问题。我确实认为，演出、巡演或驻场演出这些活动本身就蕴含着某种激励力量，赋予了他们生命。”