Music powerhouse Gladys Knight has requested a judge remove her name and likeness from her son’s chicken and waffle restaurant. She claims that the drama and troubled finances of the restaurants are damaging her reputation.
According to AJC, the suit was filed in Atlanta federal court and also asks that the restaurant, called Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles, quit using her recipes. It also asks for her memorabilia to be returned to her.
–Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffle restaurants raided
“The Restaurants are in free fall and their decline necessarily has the collateral effect of damaging Knight’s Intellectual Property and Knight’s reputation,” says the suit.
Her son, Shanga Hankerson, was arrested back in June when a Georgia Department of Revenue investigation determined that he kept taxes that the restaurant collected from customers.
Gladys Knight’s Son (Shanga Hankerson) Turns Himself in After Restaurant Raid https://t.co/oOoJo0RgZm pic.twitter.com/MfrH5wvERB
— EURweb (@eurweb) June 23, 2016
(Source EurWeb)
Gladys Knight is not being considered a suspect in any crimes.
According to witnesses, Knight’s son was using the money to host sex parties and smoke marijuana. Employees went unpaid and were forced to work in unhealthy conditions. The cut corners led to bad health inspection reports.
–Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles Restaurant fails health inspection, receives 15 violations
Earlier this month, one of the stores closed its doors for good. The other two are operating under receivership.
Knight has made a statement about the lawsuit.
“Until the legal issues are resolved it is best to remove my name because I do not have an interest in or influence over the restaurants. I have invested sixty-years of my life developing my craft, name and brand and I do not want my name associated with the business at this time.”
–Gladys Knight to today’s artists: ‘You don’t need to sell sex to sell music’