Gospel singer Kim Burrell has been axed from a planned appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show after refusing to back down regarding comments she made in a sermon in which she referred to homosexuality as "perverted" and a "stain on the body of Christ".
During the sermon, which was taped at the Love & Liberty Fellowship Church, Burrell said that those engaging in a homosexual lifestyle are "deceived", sparking backlash on social media.
"Everybody in this room who's filled with the homosexual spirit, beg God to free you," Burrell says in the video. "You play with it. What does that mean? You'll die from it. You play with it in God's house in 2017, you'll die from it."
She continues: "That perverted homosexual spirit is a spirit of delusion and confusion and it has deceived many men and women. And it has caused a stain on the body of Christ. And those homosexual spirits have been angry and they come up against you [saying] 'you gotta love everybody.' Sit down you serpent."
Footage of the sermon was released just days before Burrell's slated performance of a song from the film Hidden Figures alongside Pharrell on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday. On Tuesday, DeGeneres, the most visible homosexual public figure in America, announced Burrell would no longer be appearing on her show.
"For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show," DeGeneres announced on Twitter.
A number of public figures have criticized Burrell for her comments, including "Hidden Figures" actress Janelle Monae, singer and producer Pharrell, and the mother of Frank Ocean, an openly gay artist whose song, Godspeed, features Burrell. Another prominent gospel singer, Yolanda Adams, also criticized Burrell, saying the preacher's Hateful Words" are "never profitable to the Cause of Christ in the World."
However, Burrell has refused to back down: In a pair of videos posted to Facebook Live last Friday, the artist said that her words had been misrepresented by her "enemies" who had posted only a part of her original sermon.
"To every person that is dealing with the homosexual spirit, that has it, I love you because God loves you," she said. "But God hates the sin in you and me, anything that is against the nature of God."
She later elaborated on her comments, saying that she "never said all gays were going to hell."
"I never said 'LGBT'," she said. "I said 'SIN'. I make no excuses or apologies. My love is as pure as it comes."
