Gospel singer Kim Burrell is accustomed to controversy.
On July 20, 2024, the Grammy nominated singer received the Aretha Franklin Icon Award at the 39th Annual Stellar Awards, which were held in Vegas.
During her acceptance speech, Burrell referenced past comments she's made concerning the LGBTQIA community and apologized in front of industry peers for hurtful comments made "in the name God."
Now GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), which is the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, has responded to Burrell's public acknowledgment of hurting the community.
Darian Aaron, GLAAD's Director of Local News: US South wrote: "Burrell’s apology is but a first step toward full accountability and healing from a record of harmful, inaccurate rhetoric."
Aaron writes, "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 us to be silent about our truth, which is in alignment with the presence of God in our lives."
Interestingly, GLAAD and Houston-based LGBTQ faith leaders addressed Burrell’s record with her, her team, and Don Jackson, CEO of the Stellar Awards, BEFORE the ceremony, calling into question the sincerity of her apology. Although, it is not known whether this conversation with GLAAD was the impetus for Burrell injecting the apology in her acceptance speech, it does suggest that she had no intention to address the LGBTQ controversy in her acceptance speech prior to meeting with GLADD.
Furthermore, close observers will notice that Burrell in her apology during the Stellar Awards never expressed a reversal in her beliefs about homosexuality nor her attitudes towards gay people. She merely conceded that her words have power and apologized for her comments "hurting" members of the LGBTQ community.
Moreover, her apology was coded with condescension. Her use of the term "say it for the people in the back," suggest having to speak slower (ie, dumbing it down) for the people who are seemingly less religious, who sit in the back of the church. Her saying that the church has a specific "lingo" and "jargon" that others may not understand suggest that LGBTQ individuals don't attend church and are unfamiliar with church culture and speech. Finally, asking the audience to give a round of applause to the LGBT community all highlight a kind of condescension and, sadly, blind spot that are simply an inherent part of Burrell's personality and persona that have tarnished her career.
Some may argue that it's her tone of condescension that's plagued her over the years, not her specific core beliefs.
Burrell's Complicated Past with the LGBTQ Community
Fire and Brimstone:
In 2016, Burrell faced criticism after a now-deleted video posted Dec. 30, showed Burrell delivering a sermon at the Love & Liberty Fellowship Church in Houston. During her sermon, she condemned homosexuality as "perverted" and an "embarrassment. In reference to homosexuality, she stated, "The spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women"
In that same sermon, she called Bishop Eddie Long and Andrew "I am Delivert" Caldwell "embarrassments." In addition, she publicly ruminated on the cause of Bishop Eddie Long's health. She stated, "I’ve never seen anything as heartbreaking as watching Bishop Eddie Long go down to nothing. 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.”
Bishop Eddie Long passed away on January 15, 2017. There has never been any confirmation of the reason for his sudden decline in health.
Her comments drew the ire of gospel superstar, Yolanda Adams, who remarked on Facebook:
Repeated Public Missteps, Repeated Public Apologies
Kim Burrell has had to recover from a number of public missteps that re-enforced her "mean girl"/ "pulpit bully" persona.
A resurfaced video from BET's "Sunday Best" in 2014 showed Kim Burrell and Donnie McClurkin laughing in front of a contestant during his audition. She refused to apologize to the contestant who she embarrassed and angered.
In 2022, Kim Burrell faced backlash after speaking at Brian Carn's Convocation and joking about churchgoers' appearance and financial status." Burrell said while laughing, "Sometimes before we get friends we have to do an interview: How long have you been broke? How many times have you changed your name on your light bill? How many of your bills are in your little cousin's name? Do you live in a trailer home or a house?." Also in her speech, he joked about not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
In an effort to do damage control after her comments at Brian Carn's church, Burrell appeared on the Tamron Hall Show, where she began to bemoan her disappointment with gospel singer Yolanda Adams. After commercial break, Tamron admonished Burrell for publicly scolding and besmirching Yolanda's character. Later in the interview, after meeting Burrell, Tamron Hall told Kim Burrell that her experience of her was negative.
In 2024, Kim Burrell went viral yet again for telling a churchgoer to stop singing- while she was singing. Burrell told the woman "It’s a solo. God’s using me. Don’t sing with me right now."
The Future for Kim Burrell
It's obvious from Kim Burrell's litany of apologies over the years is that she's not going to change, primarily because she doesn't truly recognize that she needs to change. Sadly, her apology at the Stellar Awards was not a re-setting of her image, but a re-enforcement of it.
Burrell's talent is undeniable. Her signature musical runs are legendary. However, her talent is often overshadowed by some sort of controversy.
Luke 12:48 states that "to whom much is given, much is required."
Wherever Kim goes, the inescapable stoplight follows. Her notoriety comes with a responsibility. Hopefully, one day, she'll fully embrace that responsibility, lead with love, and become more aware of how her words may be perceived. Maybe one day, she'll tire of the "church bully/ mean girl" with the impulse to make people laugh image and become intentional about projecting a more welcoming persona.
She'll recognize her power to lead people to Christ- not just through song, but through uplifting words and actions: Because it through the ability to lead people to Christ (not shun them away) that she'll receive the ultimate reward.