Janelle Monae Says Kim Burrell Won't Be Performing With Her And Pharrell After Homophobic Rant

Janelle Monae has responded to the firestorm created by Kim Burrell’s recent homophobic rant, telling her fans that the gospel singer will not be performing with her and Pharrell Williams on the ‘Ellen Degeneres Show’ later this week.

The three singers were scheduled to perform their song ‘I See a Victory’ from the movie Hidden Figures – of which Monae herself is a star – on DeGeneres’ show on Thursday this week (January 5th). However, Burrell has been castigated for a recent sermon she delivered at a church in Houston where she described homosexuals as “perverted”.

The gospel singer, 44, has compounded the anger directed at her for refusing to back down or apologise for her comments in a later Facebook Live broadcast.

However, Monae has reacted by telling TMZ that it’ll just be her and Pharrell when they tape tomorrow, although no other sources have confirmed this.

“I’m a huge advocate for the ‘other’ and I don’t stand for any hate speech, or anything that targets our fellow brothers and sisters in a negative way,” Monae told the gossip site.

In what was reported to be a scathing rant against homosexuals, Burrell referred to the “perverted homosexual spirit” in her sermon.

“I love you and God loves you but God hates the sin in you and me. I never said all gays were going to hell. I never said 'LGBT'... I said 'SIN',” she said in the later Facebook video. “To every person who is dealing with the homosexual spirit, that has it, I love you and God loves you but God hates the sin in you and me. Anything that is against the nature of God. I make no excuses or apologies. My love is as pure as it comes.”

Earlier, Monae had re-posted Pharrell’s Twitter comment that read “I condemn hate speech of any kind” (although it wasn’t clear whether that was a response to what Burrell had said), adding herself: “I unequivocally repudiate any and all hateful comments against the LGBTQ community. Actually I'm tired of that label. We all belong to the same community, a shared community called humanity.”

More: The Year of Janelle Monae – why we love her and what to expect in 2017