Gladys Knight was threatened at gunpoint by a racist.
The 77-year-old singer refused to sit back when a petrol attendant refused to fill up her car because of the colour of her skin, but when she spoke up against him, he pulled out a weapon.
She told Britain’s OK! Magazine: “The bravest thing I’ve ever done [was] early in my career, when I was travelling on the road with the Pips, we stopped at a gas station and the man behind the counter refused to fill our car, even though we’d paid upfront, because I was black.
“I was very outspoken in those days and started to argue with him, and he pulled a gun on me.
“I hate to think what might have happened if my friends hadn’t pulled me away.”
The ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ singer admitted her lowest point in life came when her beloved mother passed away.
She said: “The worst time of my life was when my mother Elizabeth died in 1997. She made me who I am today.
“As well as helping to launch my singing career, she shaped my character and taught me that we are all God’s children, no matter what colour we are.”
Gladys is very grateful for how her life has turned out with her current husband William.
She said: “If I had half an hour left on earth, I’d look up to heaven and thank the Lord for the many great blessings he has given me – the blessing of song, of course, but most of all my amazing husband.
“I was married three times before and those relationships weren’t always good.
“No one measures up to William and I’m so grateful I met him.”
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