Ellen DeGeneres cancelled singer Kim Burrell's appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Thursday, January 5, 2017. The reason Ellen took this action was because of a recent anti-gay remark the singer made about gays in one of her recent sermons.
Kim Burrell's remark
Kim Burrell and Pharrell Williams were scheduled to perform together on the popular talk show on Thursday. Pharrell performed, but Kim was obviously absent. Ellen refused to allow her to appear following an anti-gay remark that Kim made during a sermon. Burrell is not only a singer, but she is a pastor and during a recent Facebook Live message, she said some things about homosexuals.
In fact, she predicted that gay people will die this year for their sins. After those remarks, Ellen didn't think it was a good thing for Kim to be on her show.
Burrell did not take back her words or apologize for what she said. Instead, she said that only a portion of her original sermon was posted and her words were misrepresented. Her Facebook message has since been deleted.
Ellen and Pharrell's response
Ellen gave Pharrell the opportunity to explain why he was singing solo instead of with Kim as had been originally planned. Williams addressed the issue that he and Kim were scheduled to sing "I've Seen a Victory" from the movie "Hidden Figures" but he had to sing another song without Kim. Williams took issue with the homophobic remark she made.
He said in essence that there is no room for that kind of prejudice. Even though Kim is a great singer, Pharrell believed what she said was out of line. Ellen agreed and reminded the audience of the words she says at the end of every one of her shows. Ellen emphasized that she really means it when she says, "Be kind to one another."
Ellen and Pharrell concluded that it was a hate speech, and it was best for Kim not to appear after saying what she did.
Ellen did not want her show to be a platform for the singer. It was obvious during the interview with Pharrell that Ellen was quite emotional. She said she loves everyone no matter how they are different.
