During the 39th annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, Kim Burrell apologized to the LGBTQ+ community for her past “hurtful” remarks while receiving the Aretha Franklin Icon Award.
The singer said: “I have fully realized the reach and impact of my voice beyond Gospel music over time and with much soul-searching. When you understand you’re no longer merely preaching to the choir, you have to proceed with extreme caution. You’re lecturing those who desired to join the choir but refrained from coming due to their inability to understand our language. Recognize that there have been times when the LGBTQ+ community has viewed some of my previous remarks, sermons, and words as hurtful. Nothing hurts more than to believe that you uttered something in God’s name and it caused harm to someone”.
The singer went on to say that her utilization of “church lingo” might have had a role in her naive remarks.
“Not everyone understands the language we use at church. Moreover, there are instances when you must speak up for those in the back and I would like to apologize to the LGBTQ community for that”.
She urged the audience to give them a hearty round of applause.
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“We desire for them to be strong and to truly understand that each of us needs to put in the effort necessary to welcome all of God’s people. As we pursue peace with all people and grow in our understanding of God, which necessitates perceiving God, I hope that this prize and this occasion can serve as the starting point for establishing bridges and listening to one another.
Kim’s apology is for her 2017 sermon, where she declared that those who identify as LGBTQ+ are “perverted” and that “God hates the sin in you and me.”
Taking issue with Burrell’s sermon, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced at the time that “prejudice of any kind has no place in 2017” and canceled the singer’s booking.
In reaction, Burrell’s apology was referred to as “just a first step” toward “accountability and healing” for the community in a statement released by Darian Aaron, the director of local news: U.S. South for LGBTQ+ advocacy group, GLAAD.
The press release stated:
Burrell’s apology is but a first step toward full accountability and healing from a record of harmful, inaccurate rhetoric, and her appearance at the Stellar Awards shows the work still to be done.
Black LGBTQ people who remain in traditional faith communities are very familiar with the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric Burrell and others have espoused throughout her career.
We are well-versed in the “lingo and jargon” of Black church culture and a gospel music industry that benefits from our gifts but demands we be silent about our truth, which is in alignment with the presence of God in our lives.
