Brian McKnight has stunned fans on social media after announcing that he has legally changed his name to "exactly match" his nine-month-old son.
Over the weekend, the R&B crooner took to Instagram to reveal that he legally changed his name to become a senior to his newborn son - although he was already a senior to his eldest son, Brian McKnight Jr.
Sharing a photo of his newest album - which features a picture of his nine-month-old baby's face - the 54-year-old 'Back at One' singer penned: "So proud to introduce our son BRIAN KAINOA MAKOA JR."
"To the world with the release of my new album lovingly created for him. JR. because I am also proud to officially announce that I have legally changed my name to exactly match my legacy's," he explained. "My legal name is now BRIAN KAINOA MAKOA MCKNIGHT SR. MCKNIGHTtime LULLABIES the songs of a father to his namesake available now!"
He included several hashtags, such as "iloveourlife," "babybrian," "mylegacy," "junior" and "familyfirst".
Check out McKnight's post below:The announcement was met with condemnation from fans on social media who accused him of trying to disassociate himself from his four eldest children: McKnight Jr., Niko, Briana, and Clyde - whom he had from previous relationships.
One user on the platform X wrote: "Brian McKnight is UNHINGED...he already has a son named Brian McKnight Jr...so he changed his own name to match the new baby's name so the new bby can be a Jr. WHO ** DOES THAT."
A second person chimed in: "Brian McKnight changed his name so that his baby boy could be a real jr… That’s not sitting well with me, seeing as his oldest son is a jr…"
A third shared: "Changing his name so his first Jr wouldn’t be his Jr anymore after so long is really crazy. it’s NUTS how many folks move on with their second family & try to ignore the first."
A fourth added: "I can think of very few things I'd like less to know. This is disgraceful. Doing it is bad enough, announcing it as if it's something to be proud of is reprehensible."
McKnight Jr. - who is also a musician - took to Instagram to respond to the new name after a fan suggested that he should get a new moniker so that he was not connected to his dad.
"I'm not ashamed of the name my ancestors had," he responded, as cited by Page Six. "I’ll never change the name my own son now has. We are witnessing an obscene level of self-hate, that has reached mental illness status at this point."
The young man clarified that he will welcome his new sibling "with open arms one day, once he realizes who his real family is," concluding: "Legacy isn’t in the name. It’s in the character of the people. It will all be quite clear soon, just who’s on the right side of all this because there’s no escaping what’s coming."
The 17-time Grammy nominee and his wife, Leilani Mendoza, tied the knot in December 2017.
They announced that they welcomed another baby in a joint Instagram post in January, writing: "For this child, we have prayed and the Lord has granted us the desires of our hearts' 1 Samuel 1:27 God's greatest gift, our son is here!!!"
"Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight.We are so in love!!!! #iloveourlife #mylegacy #blessed #ohana #son #mrandmrsmcknight #knightandlei," they added, sharing a picture of McKnight Sr. and Mendoza making a heart with their hands around the infant's hand.
