Gladys Knight said she is taking a step back from performing to focus on her grandchildren and projects with her husband.
The lead singer of Gladys Knight & the Pips, 82, wrote in a statement on Instagram Friday that she will have fewer performances moving forward to be more present in her personal life.
“After much soul searching, I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,” the “Midnight Train to Georgia” singer wrote. “I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”
Her announcement comes amid reports that the Empress of Soul appeared to be suffering from dementia symptoms in recent shows. Fans online said that the singer looked out of it onstage and confused at times.
Her July 25 show at the Hollywood Bowl, specifically, had fans concerned, because she seemed disoriented while performing her hit song, “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
The soul singer directly addressed her fans in her statement, thanking them for their support over her seven-decade career.
“I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way,” she wrote. “I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you. I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”
William McDowell, Knight’s husband of 25 years, who is also her manager, gave a statement to TMZ, in which he expressed support for his wife’s decisions.
“No one is ever gonna make me say, ‘My wife is well,’ but all she wants to do is sing,” he said. While he clarified to the outlet that she has not been diagnosed with dementia, they do plan to have her evaluated.
The singer was set to tour through mid-November, but she has not yet shared which dates of the tour will be canceled.
Knight’s son, Shanga Hankerson, has previously accused McDowell of “elder abuse” against his mother. Hankerson raised concerns about her mental decline in a 2025 interview, noting that he did not want her to tour anymore.
Hankerson claimed he filed a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, accusing his mother’s current husband of mental and financial abuse. Knight, however, denied the allegations.
TheWrap has reached out to Knight’s team for further comment.
