Arts & Entertainment
Ellen DeGeneres scraps Kim Burrell from show for homophobic sermon
gospel singer says she has no “no excuses or apologies”

(Screenshot via YouTube.)
Gospel singer Kim Burrell will no longer be performing on Thursday’s episode of “Ellen,” Ellen DeGeneres announced on Tuesday.
Burrell was scheduled to perform “I See Victory” from the “Hidden Figures” soundtrack alongside Pharrell Williams. However, after a video was released of Burrell giving a sermon on the “homosexual spirit” at Love & Liberty Fellowship Church in Houston, DeGeneres says Burrell will not appear.
“For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show,” DeGeneres tweeted.
For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 3, 2017
“Everybody in this room who’s filled with the homosexual spirit, beg God to free you,” Burrell says in the sermon. “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.”
“You as a man, you open your mouth and take a man’s penis in your face, you are perverted,” Burrell continues. “You are a woman and will shake your face in another woman’s breast, you are perverted.”
In a Facebook Live video, Burrell defended her comments and said she “never said all gays were going to hell” and she makes “no excuses or apologies.”
“I never said ‘LGBT.’ I said ‘sin’,” Burrell says. “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.”
Williams indirectly addressed the controversy with an Instagram post.
“I condemn hate speech of any kind,” Williams writes. “There is no room in the world for any kind of prejudice. My greatest hope is for inclusion and love for all humanity in 2017 and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance presented the 2026 Capital Pride Honors at “The Audacity Brunch: In Full Fuchsia” at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 7.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)












Out & About
Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves
Daylong Pride celebration blends history, remembrance, art and community
Historic Congressional Cemetery will host the second annual “Gays & Graves: A Big Gay Festival” on Sunday, June 14 at 11 a.m.
The event will feature pioneering activist Randy Wicker, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, and new public art installations and programs celebrating LGBTQ+ history. Gays & Graves is an official partner event of Capital Pride 2026.
This event is a daylong Pride celebration blending history, remembrance, art and community. Visitors can shop from LGBTQ+ and allied artists and makers, experience performances and interactive installations, and engage with programs exploring LGBTQ+ history and lived experience.
For more details, visit the cemetery’s website.
Baltimore Pride is underway, taking place from June 8-14.
The Pride Parade will be on Saturday, June 13 at 12 p.m. at Charles Street & North Avenue, followed by the Pride Block Party at 1 p.m. at Druid Hill Park. And then the Pride Festival will be held on Sunday, June 14 at 12 p.m. at Druid Hill Park.
There will be an array of additional events including: a fashion show, a “Suits and Sneakers” reception and a 5k race, among many other events.
For more details, visit Baltimore Pride’s website.
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