Gospel singer and pastor, Kim Burrell, says she received death threats after her controversial sermon about gay people went viral.
During the 2017 sermon, the outspoken pastor referred to the “perverted homosexual spirit” and said “it has deceived many men and women.”
In a new interview with the “We Sound Crazy” podcast, Burrell said the backlash exploded when Ellen DeGeneres canceled a scheduled appearance with the Grammy-nominated singer on her daytime talk show.
“That cancel culture thing increased right about then. I hadn’t heard of it before… I glory in those days because I was chosen to be put in that position, and I know God had a divine purpose for me. But I have not shared that I was shot at,” she said.
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Burrell said things got so bad that she needed a protection detail.
“I had helicopters flying over my home. I had constables, sheriffs living outside of my house for seven days, when one would drive off, another [would arrive]. It was 24 hours,” she added. “The Muslim nation came to my church and there was security for 45 days, without me asking.”
She revealed her longtime friend Stevie Wonder offered to help.
“When all the news started going crazy, Stevie called me and said, ‘I don’t like what I’m hearing… I need you to come to me.’ He buys an airline ticket and me and my assistant flew to Stevie,” she recalled. “I went and hung out with Stevie for about two or three few days.”
Watch the interview below.
Five years later, Burrell said the harassment has not stopped.
“It is still going on. I still get death threats… after five years, six years. People still call and give hate mail, so much stuff. Believe it or not, it is still happening heavily,” she stated.
Back in 2017, Burrell was supposed to sing with Pharrell Williams on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
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But after the Houston, Texas pastor’s comments made global headlines, DeGeneres “banned” her from the show, according to the BBC.
DeGeneres, who is a gay rights advocate, tweeted at the time: “For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.” Williams still appeared on the show.
During the podcast interview, Burrell said Pharrell called her right after his performance.
Watch the full interview below. Burrell discusses being canceled at the 37:00 mark.
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