*Stephanie Mills thinks it’s time for Gladys Knight to come off the road, and she doesn’t believe the touring is Knight’s choice.
“Even though they’ll say, ‘Oh, well, she wants to be,’ I don’t really believe that,” Mills said on “The Jason Lee Show.” “Because she should be allowed to bow out with grace.”
Lee brought up accounts of Knight, 82, seeming disoriented during shows, even as her vocals hold up. Mills didn’t weigh in on Knight’s health. She used the moment to send a message to veteran entertainers, naming Charlie Wilson and Ronald Isley.
“Don’t diminish your talent,” she said, according to Complex. “Don’t let people pimp you.”
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In Mills’ view, one person has the power to change Knight’s schedule: William McDowell, Knight’s husband, who also manages her career.
“I think it’s the responsibility of her husband,” she said. “I don’t think that she should still be out there.”
Her opinion carries weight. Mills spent 2025 on The Queens Tour beside Knight, Patti LaBelle and Chaka Khan, and she has been a vocal admirer of the “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer for years. The remarks come amid a bitter family dispute, Complex reports. Knight’s son, Shanga Hankerson, has been McDowell’s most outspoken critic.
“He never intended to stop any tour dates, as you can see for yourself,” Hankerson told The Detroit News. “My belief and fear is that he intends to literally try to work her until she passes away.”
Hankerson claims McDowell has taken advantage of Knight mentally and financially. He says his mother forgets things and sometimes becomes confused, and he went to North Carolina officials with his worries.
McDowell rejects the idea that his wife is being made to sing. He says doctors have not found dementia, while acknowledging her condition varies from day to day.
A September concert in Tulsa intensified the family drama. Afterward the show, a fan claimed Knight forgot lyrics and cut her set short.
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