Pharrell Williams condemns hate speech after collaborator’s homophobic rant
Pharrell Williams has insisted he condemns hate speech “of any kind” after a singer he recorded with made shocking homophobic comments.
In a church sermon this week, pastor and singer Kim Burrell – who features on Pharrell track ‘I See A Victory’ – claimed that homosexuality is an “evil spirit” and that homosexuality is a perverted act.
Burrell claimed: “Anybody in this room who is filled with the homosexual spirit, pray God to free you. You’re playing with it in 2017, you’ll die from it.”
That perverted, homosexual spirit is a spirit of delusion and confusion. If you, as a man, will open your mouth and take a man’s penis in your face, you are perverted.
“If you are a woman and you shake your breasts in another woman’s face, you are perverted.”
Following Burrell’s comments, Pharrell posted a message appearing to address the incident.
He wrote: “I condemn hate speech of any kind. There is no room in this world for any kind of prejudice. My greatest hope is for inclusion and love for all humanity in 2017 and beyond.”
The pair are set to appear together on The Ellen Show on Thursday (January 5) to promote their track, which appears on the soundtrack for film Hidden Bodies.
It is expected that Ellen DeGeneres will bring up the comments during the appearance.
The Roots frontman Questlove also called out the comments, beginning: “*facepalm* No Kim No!!”
He wrote: “I want Christians to focus on actually being Christ like & compassionate to their fellow man.
“I’ve seen more sermonizing, coldness, hypocrisy, and utter disdain from the Christian community on every issue (justice/women’s issue/lgbtq).
“No one likes Nagging Hall Monitor. I want to see less ‘God’s Teacher’s Pet’ and less ‘SMH’ from Christians. And more compassion.”
