Kim Burrell Gets The Boot From ‘Ellen’, ‘Will Not Appear’ According To Degeneres

Kim Burrell will not appear on Ellen after all, according to a tweet from Ellen Degeneres’ official account. Burrell, a gospel singer and minister, had come under fire over the weekend for comments made regarding homosexuality after video of a Kim’s sermon surfaced this weekend.

Many had wondered if Degeneres, a prominent voice in the LGBTQ community, would look the other way and allow Kim to still appear on Ellen to perform a song from the movie Hidden Figures with Pharrell this Thursday. Degeneres put that question to rest with one simple sentence on Twitter today.

For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 3, 2017

The news will undoubtedly come as a blow to Burrell who had tweeted just over a week ago her excitement over appearing on Degeneres’ show.

On @TheEllenShow 1/5/17 w/ @Pharrell supporting @HiddenFigures. Have you gone to @AppleMusic to get the soundtrack? https://t.co/HCtI31DHIe

— Kim Burrell (@KimBurrellLove) December 22, 2016

So far, Kim Burrell has had no comment on Ellen’s decision to nix her appearance.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Burrell stated in her sermon “I came to tell you about sin. That perverted homosexual spirit, and the spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women.” Kim was preaching at Love and Liberty Fellowship Church International in Houston where she is the pastor. After Burrell started to receive backlash for the remark which had others labeling her “homophobic” and “hateful,” Kim tried to defend her position saying that despite her religious belief that homosexuality is a sin, Burrell was not preaching hate against the LGBTQ community.

“There are a lot of people that I’m aware of that struggle or deal [with] or have that spirit,” Burrell said in a Facebook Live video. “Have I discriminated against them? Have I ever outright told them that I don’t love you and you going to hell? … I don’t give that call.”

Apparently Burrell’s response wasn’t enough to appease Ellen Degeneres or her singing partner Pharrell. Though Pharrell didn’t directly address Kim Burrell or the situation, he did post a statement on Instagram condemning “hate speech.”

Ellen Degeneres is known for promoting love and acceptance. In fact, Degeneres was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama for her continued outpouring of positivity and love in the community.

“Again and again, Ellen DeGeneres has shown us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place, so long as we just keep swimming,” Obama said while presenting the medal to Degeneres according to People.

But despite her seemingly limitless love for others, Degeneres–an out lesbian–has also been adamant in the past that she will not tolerate those who cannot show tolerance for others’ lifestyles, most especially the LGBTQ community. As previously reported by Inquisitr, while Degeneres generally keeps her talk show lighthearted, there have been a couple of instances in which Ellen used her daytime venue as a platform to discuss her support of the LGBTQ community.

In April, Ellen took a few minutes from her opening monologue to denounce Mississippi’s “religious freedom bill” after the governor signed it into law. And Degeneres recently had a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting as a guest whom she surprised with a visit from Katy Perry.

Burrell’s removal from Ellen‘s lineup for her remarks on homosexuality shouldn’t come as a surprise. Past guests have been forbidden from appearing on Ellen for similar reasons. In 2010, Vince Vaughn was reportedly not allowed to come promote his film The Dilemma due to a homosexual joke seen in the film’s trailer. The joke ended up not making the final cut of the movie and Vaughn appeared on the show at other times to promote other films.

Whether or not Kim Burrell will get another shot with Ellen remains to be seen but it seems highly unlikely. Burrell has her fundamental religious belief that homosexuality is a sin and will more than likely continue to preach about it. Still, one has to wonder if Kim Burrell’s getting the axe from Ellen will be her only repercussion.

The movie from which Burrell and Pharrell’s song “I See a Victory” comes, Hidden Figures, has been receiving awards season buzz thanks to its all-star cast. The film industry has been criticized for its lack of diversity in regard to roles and accolades the past couple of years and Hidden Figures seems to have broken those barriers. That being said, whether or not the song will get recognition in the ‘Best Original Song’ category could be affected by Burrell singing it. Though the song was written by Pharrell Williams and Kirk Franklin and they would be the ones who would receive the actual award, some may feel Kim Burrell’s involvement tainted their chances of getting the nomination.

[Featured image by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images]