What Happened to Fantasia Barrino and Her Dad? Inside the Messy Family Drama
What started as a romantic onstage moment turned into viral accusations and even bigger clapbacks.
Published Feb. 19 2026, 1:40 p.m. ET
The drama between Fantasia Barrino and her father is heating up after the singer fired back at claims about her husband. The situation started when her husband, Kendall Taylor, surprised her onstage with a re-proposal during her Valentine’s Day show. It escalated when Fantasia’s estranged father, Joseph Barrino, publicly accused Kendall of stealing money.
During Fantasia’s Valentine’s Day performance, Kendall Taylor stepped onstage and told the crowd he wanted to give his wife “the proposal she never got,” then presented her with a new ring tied to their years together. The romantic moment went viral fast, but not everyone was pleased. Joseph then took to social media to blast Kendall.
What happened with Fantasia Barrino?
While fans swooned over the gesture, Joseph posted on Facebook and claimed the proposal was not heartfelt. Joseph suggested the move was a cover for alleged financial issues in Fantasia’s camp, accusing Kendall of being connected to “missing money.”
“He’s giving back some of the missing money the fired financial committee says he's probably stole … that they couldn’t account for,” Joseph claimed, per That Grape Juice. “Y’all pray for Fantasia! I hate this for her.”
Fantasia responded in a now-deleted Instagram post, slamming Joseph for his remarks about her husband. “I wasn’t going to do this but this has gotten out of hand. Joseph Barrino I can’t even call you Dad or a Father, you are a DONOR,” the singer wrote. “We have covered for you long enough. My Mom and Me have made you LOOK like you were an okay man but NOW YOU HAVE COME FOR MY KING!!! Tonight I will go Live and behind me will stand all who know YOU!!!! How can someone steal if I, Fantasia Taylor, am the CEO and My King Kendall Taylor is the President of ALL OUR COMPANIES.”
Fantasia’s husband has also responded to the allegations.
Kendall addressed the accusations in his own social media video. He pushed back against claims that he used Fantasia or mishandled money. “When I met my wife, I was running my own multi-million dollar company. Period,” Kendall said, per Baller Alert. “That means her success, her career didn’t build me, didn’t shape me.” He also revealed that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement and said the idea came from him.
The recent drama is not the first public fallout involving Fantasia’s father. In 2006, Joseph filed a $10 million libel lawsuit tied to Fantasia’s memoir Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, alleging the book included false statements about him, according to the Los Angeles Times.