Brian McKnight's Ex Fires Back at Defamation Suit, Claims He Damaged Own Reputation

Brian McKnight's ex-wife says there's no way he can sue her for defamation ... because he destroyed his own public image long before she talked about his relationship with their son.

Julie McKnight responded to Brian's lawsuit earlier this month ... filing an answer full of affirmative defenses.

The first of these defenses hinges upon what she says is "pre-existing self-inflicted reputational damage" ... basically, Julie says Brian was already known publicly as a terrible father -- so her own comments to that effect couldn't have caused any more damage to his reputation.

For example, Julie claims he's publicly called his kids "products of sin” and “evil” in 2023 and mentions that his daughter filed a defamation action against him in 2020 ... so people already knew they weren't close.

In addition to her defense, she's also countersuing Brian for allegedly breaking a confidentiality agreement in their 2014 marriage settlement.

We broke the story ... Brian filed a lawsuit against Julie, one of his sons, and several bloggers -- claiming he is the victim of a "shockingly dishonest" and "sensational but false narrative" alleging he abandoned his kids and refused to tell his dying son Niko he loved him.