Gladys Knight Says She’s ‘Healthy’ After Son Accuses Her Husband of Abuse (Exclusive)

Gladys Knight is assuring fans she’s “healthy and happy” after her son publicly accused the music legend’s husband of mental and financial abuse — and lodged a complaint with authorities in North Carolina over her care.

Knight, 81, has been on The Queens Tour since May with fellow legends Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills, and currently has 11 shows scheduled from September through December.

The “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer’s son Shanga Hankerson expressed concern for his mother in an interview with PEOPLE, claiming that her busy touring schedule was “detrimental” to her health, and came largely at the behest of her husband, William McDowell.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Knight painted a different picture, saying she has enjoyed her time on the road and is doing well.

“I’m sorry that my health and performances have 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 said. “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.”

Hankerson, meanwhile, tells PEOPLE that while his mother has not expressed to him a desire to stop performing, he believes she’s “on cruise control,” and has in recent years struggled with her memory, citing an instance this past New Year’s in which Knight allegedly did not know who he was for 45 minutes. He previously told The Shade Room about another instance last year in which Knight allegedly wandered away from the hotel they were staying at and ended up across town.

“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. 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,” says Hankerson, who alleges that McDowell has been “mental[ly] and financial[ly]” abusive to his mother.

Hankerson, 49, claims he filed a complaint with the Department of Human Services in Buncombe County, N.C. earlier this month, and that case workers showed up to Knight’s home the next day for an assessment. The case is allegedly ongoing; a spokesperson for the department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Knight’s publicist Laura Herlovich said that Knight and her team are “greatly saddened by Shanga’s unfounded allegations,” as he allegedly “has had no substantial contact with her.”

“She has not been on tour since June 1 and can’t wait to begin touring again in September,” the statement read. “At this time our lawyers have no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies due to Shanga’s defamatory comments.”

Hankerson calls the statement “inaccurate,” and alleges that he has been “purposefully kept in a position of having minimal access” to his mother, maintaining that her “deterioration has occurred over a period of years, and is very evident.”

Hankerson is Knight’s son with music executive Barry Hankerson. Knight previously won a legal battle against him in 2017, when he was ordered to stop using her name, likeness and memorabilia in connection with his Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles restaurant chain, according to the Associated Press. The outlet reported that he was sentenced to two years in prison in 2021 for failing to withhold payroll taxes for the restaurants.

Hankerson, who works as a registered behavior therapist, says he is “fighting to make sure I can really take care of” Knight, and would “absolutely” take legal action against McDowell so long as he has the “proper foundation.”

“This has nothing to do with money for me,” he says. “I’m trying to get her to stop working.”