July 23, 2024
Kim Burrell Aims To Make Peace, Apologizes To LGBTQ+ Community For Past Homophobic Remarks
Think she meant it?
Gospel singer Kim Burrell issued an apology to the LGBTQ+ community for her past homophobic comments while receiving a 2024 Stellar Award.
The Grammy Award-nominated artist made her remarks while receiving the Aretha Franklin Icon Award. “We want them to have strength and to sincerely know that we must all do the work to embrace all of God’s people and show forth His love to everyone,” the singer said, met with some applause.
“Tonight, I hope this award and this moment can be the beginning of a bridge building and listening to each other as we follow peace with all men and develop the character of God, which requires seeing God.”
Burrell has come under fire in the past years for derogatory comments made toward the community. According to GLAAD, in 2017, she preached a sermon at the Love & Liberty Fellowship Church in Houston and called people who engage in homosexual acts “perverted” and deceived by the “homosexual spirit.”
Her comments caused a domino effect of backlash, including being banned from Ellen Degeneres’ talk show. Burrell tried clarify by saying she wasn’t referring to the LGBTQ+ community. “I never said all gays were going to hell. I never said ‘LGBT’… I said ‘SIN’,” Burrell said.
The artist also once publicly speculated that the late Bishop Eddie Long had HIV/AIDS and was a “closeted” gay man. “I’ve never seen anything as heartbreaking as watching Bishop Eddie Long go down to nothing,” she said. “It is an embarrassment to the church ‘cause nobody would be saying that you have AIDS unless a homosexual man didn’t come out and reveal what you did behind closed doors…they have yet to deny it.”
As the most recent clip made its way around social media, users didn’t seem to be as accepting of Burrell’s apology. Some claimed it was sarcastic and others called her out for her condescending tone. “Kim Burrell never has a dull moment in being sarcastic,” @vettetuck wrote on TikTok.
“I wasn’t looking for it but trust is built when actions meet words,” @marcjohnson said.
On X, users expressed similar concerns in her apology. “The epitome of condescending,” @studio_stedma wrote.
Other comments from the singer have caused backlash. In 2022, she said churchgoers should avoid “broke” and “ugly” people during a guest appearance at Kingdom City Church. And, in early 2024, Burrell told a congregation member not to sing along with her during a solo performance.
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