Pharrell Williams and Janelle Monáe are backing away from Houston preacher and gospel star Kim Burrell, following a viral video of her delivering an anti-gay sermon. Burrell sings on “I See Victory,” a song from Pharrell’s soundtrack for the film Hidden Figures, in which Monáe co-stars. All three performers were set to appear on Thursday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but Monáe told a TMZ photographer that Burrell won’t be there. (She declined to comment on whether “I See Victory” ought to be removed from the soundtrack.)
In the grainy video, Burrell describes specific sex acts as “perverted” and implies that gay people may die in 2017. “That perverted homosexual spirit is the spirit of delusion and confusion. It has deceived many men and women, and it’s caused a stain on the body of Christ,” she says. It’s not clear when the undated footage was shot. On December 31, Burrell appeared via Facebook Live to defend herself: “God loves you, but God hates the sin.”
Responding to the uproar, Pharrell posted an Instagram statement denouncing hate speech without mentioning Burrell by name. Monáe re-shared Pharrell’s post, adding her own thoughts in the caption: “I will rejoice when folks stop thinking they ARE GOD, Jesus’ assistant, picking and choosing what ‘sins’ are acceptable in the Bible, and using the Bible as a whip! … My advice: If your religion is causing you to spew out words of hate, judge, or look down on others because of who one loves then you need to change it.”
Read Monáe’s full statement below.
Update: In a tweet, Ellen DeGeneres confirmed that Burrell is not invited to Thursday’s show:
For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 3, 2017