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Gospel singer Kim Burrell recently landed in hot waters after making controversial comments about churchgoers' appearance and financial status during a speech at Pastor Brian Carn's Kingdom City Church.
The controversy intensified after the musician took to Instagram to issue an official statement about the situation. In her initial letter, Burrell mentioned that she did not intend to hurt people through her words and claimed that her speech was being used to create "false statements and narratives" to cause "slander and defamation."
The statement immediately backfired and prompted Burrell to delete the letter from social media. Meanwhile, she took to Instagram again to apologize for her questionable remarks about churchgoers.
Burrell began the video by clarifying that the initial letter came from an attorney, while her latest apology is from her heart:
“Hello everybody. This is Kim Burrell. I'm sorry. I mean it. I mean that. Not from the letter, from my heart. I released a letter two days ago. It did not convey right at all, and I must tell you this — it was from an attorney that asked me to do it.”
She further acknowledged that calling the churchgoers "broke" and "ugly" in her speech was "offensive" in nature:
“The latter part, y'all know I know, it was offensive... It was not my intent for it to be but it was her wording to say, ‘They need to be aware.’ I said, ‘Nah.’ My friends called me and said, ‘No, there are still people who are hurt from the part of them they love about you.’”
The Grammy Award nominee also mentioned that she decided to film the new video out of her love for fans:
“I came back because I do love you. This ain’t about dates, this ain’t about keeping my career, this is about keeping love real. I love you guys so much, and I’m really, truly sorry”
Kim Burrell concluded her video by saying that she never intended to "hurt" her fans and does not want to hurt them in the future. She mentioned apologizing from the "bottom of her heart" and said she would pray that the ones affected by her comments "heal" from the situation.
What did Kim Burrell say in her speech?
Earlier this week, a video showing Kim Burrell's controversial speech about attendees at Kingdom City Church went viral online. In the video, the singer can be seen joking about the churchgoers' financial status and calling them "broke":
“Sometimes before we get friends we have to do an interview: How long 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? You understand. It's not about status or material things. It's just about choices.”
She then proceeded to comment on the Paycheck Protection Program loans and said:
“Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet each other when y'all invite me to come to your church. I'm not as expensive as I seem! I don't know, maybe you got a little left from your PPP loan. Prayer, Praise and Power, you understand. Amen.”
Burrell was further seen praising Pastor Brian but called the members of his church "ugly":
“Most don’t understand his personality because he is truth personified, and he tells the type of truth that makes most uncomfortable, cause who likes to be told, you’re just ugly?”
She continued to share her questionable remarks about churchgoers' appearances despite failing to evoke a reaction from the crowd:
“No one likes to be told that, especially when they have realized it. Most don’t get offended until they know the bad thing about themselves, and then somebody else recognizes it and says, oh I saw the ugly, too. Just wanted to let you know.”
During her speech, Kim Burrell also praised people who decided to attend the church service through "walking by faith without a mask and no vaccine" despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Kim Burrell's apology video does not convince netizens
As Kim Burrell's church speech went viral online, her comments about churchgoers sparked outrage on social media. She also received backlash after posting an official statement justifying her actions and condemning the alleged harassment she faced.
The singer deleted her initial clarification statement and posted a video apology on Instagram. Although Burrell apologized for her words and the subsequent letter, the apology video failed to convince or impress social media users.
Many also took to Twitter to share their reactions to the singer's apology:
Before the latest controversy, Kim Burrell came under fire for calling the LGBTQI+ community "perverted" and saying same-gender relationships were a "sin." She also received backlash in 2019 for mocking fellow singer Fantasia.
