Brian McKnight is done trying to find Jaguar Wright the old-fashioned way. After weeks of failed attempts, the R&B singer wants the courts to let him go public — in print.
McKnight’s legal team says Wright has dodged every attempt to be served with his defamation lawsuit, so now they’re asking for permission to notify her through legal ads in The Arizona Republic.
His attorney, Ryan Saba, explained their move in court documents: “It is apparent that [Wright] is evading service. Given that [McKnight] made reasonable attempts to serve [Wright] and [Wright] is evading service by refusing to answer the door or open the door, or to sign the return receipt, service by publication is necessary to provide notice of [McKnight’s] complaint.”
Since May, process servers have tried to reach Wright at her Phoenix address at least six times. In one case, someone inside denied knowing anyone named Jaguar. At other times, no one answered — even when it looked like someone was home. Certified mail didn’t work either.
McKnight filed the lawsuit in April, accusing Wright of spreading what he calls “totally false and damaging” stories online. She alleged that he abused his ex-wife Julie McKnight, hired sex workers, and even claimed Julie was her cousin — something Brian flat-out denies.
After news of the lawsuit broke, Wright responded by calling McKnight a “scumbag” and promised she’d be a “nightmare” for him.
If the judge approves, McKnight can run the legal notice once a week for four weeks. Wright might catch the news with her morning paper if she’s not already expecting it.
