AceShowbiz - Radio conglomerate Urban One has filed a motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit brought by Brian McKnight concerning statements aired on The Rickey Smiley Morning Show and a North Carolina local radio station.

The motion, submitted on Friday, April 3, asserts that the R&B singer’s claims lack legal merit. This lawsuit, originally filed in January, challenges content broadcast on two Urban One affiliates during 2024: an interview featuring Julie McKnight, Brian’s ex-wife, on FOXY 107.1, and a rebroadcast of an interview with Brian’s son, Brian McKnight Jr., aired on Rickey Smiley’s show.

During the FOXY 107.1 interview in January 2025, Julie McKnight, who was married to Brian from 1990 to 2003, promoted her book Mama Bear: Beautifully Blended. She described Brian as "negative" during the cancer treatment of their late son Niko and mentioned that she and her children had distanced themselves from him due to what she called harmful behavior.

Urban One’s legal team argues that the company cannot be held responsible for statements made by Julie, who was never an employee of the network. Furthermore, the statements made by FOXY 107.1 host Karen Clark during the interview do not qualify as defamatory. According to Urban One’s attorney Lauren Nichols from Troutman Pepper Locke, most of Clark’s remarks were expressed as questions or opinions rather than factual assertions.

“The Ms. Clark statements identified by plaintiff cannot reasonably be interpreted as stating actual facts about plaintiff,” Nichols wrote in the dismissal motion. “The alleged 'defamatory statements' are not truly factual statements—most are merely questions. And any statement not solely a question, is at most an expression of opinion.”

Urban One also contends that Brian’s defamation claims related to the December episode of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, which included clips from an outside interview with Brian McKnight Jr., are unfounded. In those clips, the younger Brian alleged that his father refused to tell Niko he loved him before the son’s death from cancer.

The network states that Brian failed to identify specific defamatory statements in the video segment. Moreover, because Brian is a public figure, he must prove that the alleged defamatory statements were made with actual malice—meaning that Urban One knowingly lied or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Urban One argues that Brian has not met this standard.

The motion further claims, “Even assuming the statements made by Urban One were indeed statements of ‘actual fact,’ not opinion/hyperbole, and could be defamatory (they cannot), plaintiff does not allege any facts that Urban One knew, or should have known, the statements were false or that any statements were made with a reckless disregard for the truth.”

Urban One is requesting that a federal judge in Raleigh, North Carolina, dismiss the lawsuit outright before any evidence discovery or trial proceedings commence. Brian’s legal representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment on this motion.

Brian McKnight is famously known for hits such as “Anytime” and “Back at One.” Since the publication of Julie McKnight’s book Mama Bear: Beautifully Blended earlier in 2025, he has initiated multiple defamation lawsuits. In addition to the current case against Urban One, Brian is pursuing libel claims against his ex-wife for passages in her book that portray him as emotionally abusive and neglectful toward their children.

Last year, Brian also filed a lawsuit against singer-songwriter Jaguar Wright, who posted a series of Instagram videos accusing him of physical abuse toward Julie and sex workers during their marriage. Brian has denied all allegations of mental or physical abuse.

The ongoing legal battles underscore a deeply contentious dispute surrounding Brian McKnight’s personal and family matters, as well as the public airing of sensitive accusations through media channels affiliated with Urban One.

As the motion to dismiss awaits the court’s ruling, the case highlights the complexities of defamation law, especially concerning public figures and the challenges of balancing free speech with protection from harmful claims.

Urban One’s move to end the lawsuit before discovery or trial signals a firm stance against the allegations, emphasizing the network’s position that it cannot be held liable for statements made by third parties or for content that does not meet the legal threshold for defamation.

The outcome of this legal dispute could have significant implications for how media companies handle third-party interviews and rebroadcasts involving controversial personal claims, particularly when public figures are involved.