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Gladys Knight denies son’s claims of husband’s mental, financial abuse

PEOPLE
Gladys Knight

Gladys Knight is denying her son’s allegations that the singer’s husband has subjected her to “mental and financial” abuse.

A representative for the “Midnight Train to Georgia” crooner told People she’s “healthy and happy,” and that the claims made by her son Shanga Hankerson are entirely “unfounded.”

Rather, Hankerson has allegedly had “no substantial contact” with the 81-year-old Grammy winner, who’s “greatly saddened” by his claims against her fourth husband, William McDowell, to whom she’s been married for 24 years.

Hankerson, a behavior therapist, alleged to the outlet that McDowell has pushed his mother to tour, claiming the demand of the schedule is “detrimental” to her health. Hankerson also said he’s been purposefully allowed only “minimal access” to Knight, whose “deterioration has occurred over a period of years, and is very evident.”

Hankerson made similar claims earlier this week to The Shade Room, accusing McDowell of manipulating people into believing his mother is fit to perform. Instead, Hankerson said, she’s been showing signs of cognitive decline and is “being made to think that she needs to work.”

In response to the accusations, Knight’s publicist said the music legend “has not been on tour since June 1 (but) can’t wait to begin touring again in September,” referring to The Queens Tour, which brings Knight together with Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills.

“At this time our lawyers have no choice but to explore any and all legal remedies due to Shanga’s defamatory comments,” the statement continued.

This isn’t the first time Knight has needed to consider legal action against her son, whom she shares with her second husband, music executive Barry Hankerson. They were married from 1974 to 1979.

In 2017, Knight successfully ordered Shanga to stop using her name, likeness and memorabilia as part of the Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles restaurant chain he opened in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

Four years later, Shanga pleaded guilty to neglecting to withhold payroll taxes from the restaurants’ employees.

He was ordered to serve two years behind bars and a year of supervised release, in addition to paying more than $1 million in restitution.

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Pete Davidson

Why Pete Davidson’s Hillary Clinton tattoo is the one he won’t remove

NEW YORK — Pete Davidson’s committed to removing his tattoos, but his Hillary Clinton ink isn’t going anywhere.

Though the comedian is in the process of removing upward of 200 tattoos from his body, he revealed on The Breakfast Club that the image of Clinton on his leg is here to stay.

“I love Hillary. I got Hillary after she lost,” he told the hosts on their Power 105.1 morning show. “One, I know her personally and she’s a lovely lady. But also … she’s tough, man. She was really at the forefront of some bulls — t and as someone who’s been at the forefront of some bulls — t, I just wanted to, like, cheer her up a little bit.”

When asked what the 2016 presidential candidate had to say about the body ink, the SNL alum replied, “she loves it.”

“What was cute was when I got them removed, she hit me up and was like, ‘You’re not removing me are you’?” he said. “I was like, ‘Of course not!’ Hillary stays.”

Davidson also said his “feelings changed” about the tattoos as he’s gotten older.

“My tattoos sucked. They were all drug-fueled,” Davidson admitted. “I just looked at myself in rehab for the first time when I was sober and was just like, ‘Oh no. What did I do’?”

The 31-year-old still thinks “tattoos are cool,” but only when they have “meaning” to them.

“Mine just weren’t,” he said when explaining his decision to start the removal process in 2020. “So I just started burning them off. Burning them off sucks.”

The Staten Island native offered his advice to those considering ink: ”“If anyone is thinking of getting a tattoo, I would recommend thinking about it for a couple years, ’cause your feelings change.”

A source told People that The Pickup” actor has spent $200,000 on the removal process.

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Taylor Swift

Swifties speculate Taylor Swift’s new album drags Blake Lively

NEW YORK — Swifties are speculating that one particular song off Taylor Swift’s upcoming album nods to the rumored demise of her friendship with Blake Lively, amid the latter’s legal battle with Justin Baldoni.

The chatter comes on the heels of Swift on Wednesday revealing that the tracklist from “The Life of a Showgirl,” dropping Oct. 3, will feature a song titled “Ruin the Friendship.”

Lively, 37, is currently locked in a litigious and publicity saga with 41-year-old Baldoni, her director and co-star in “It Ends With Us,” whom she claims sexually harassed her during filming. The “Gossip Girl” alum also alleges Baldoni waged a smear campaign to undermine her accusations.

Baldoni has denied all of Lively’s claims, though he did include some reported texts in his since-dismissed $400 million defamation suit. In one such correspondence, Lively allegedly referred to Swift as one of her “dragons,” with Baldoni accusing her of leveraging the popstar’s celebrity status in attempt to take over creative control of the film.

Ever since Swift was named in the suit, she’s reportedly kept her distance from her longtime friend. In June, a source told People that Swift was “working to trust Blake again.”

While making her podcast debut during boyfriend Travis Kelce’s hit “New Heights” show, Swift revealed she recorded the entirety of her new album in between shows on the European leg of her Eras Tour last summer.

If true, that throws a bit of a wrench into the theory that “Ruin the Friendship” is about Lively, as she and Swift were last spotted together last October — on a double date, no less.

Moreover, Lively didn’t accuse Baldoni of any misdeeds until right before Christmas, and Baldoni didn’t drag Swift into the mess until early this year.

Still, that hasn’t stopped fans from spreading the theory online, particularly in the wake of Swift being momentarily subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team.

Neither Swift nor Lively has publicly remarked on their friendship since “It Ends With Us” hit theaters in August.

From combined wire services

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