--- title: Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres Address Kim Burrell Homphobia description: Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres addressed Kim Burrell's homophobic comments when Pharrell appeared on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' canonical: https://time.com/4623920/pharrell-ellen-degeneres-discuss-kim-burrell/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-05T19:12:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:39:56.440Z og:title: Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres Address Kim Burrell's Anti-Gay Comments og:description: "I don't want anyone to feel hurt because they're different" og:url: https://time.com/4623920/pharrell-ellen-degeneres-discuss-kim-burrell/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e7d913998fdfaca/6988b47d8fd2ee5a64355517/ellen-degeneres-pharrell-kim-burress.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pharrell Williams Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres Address Kim Burrell's Anti-Gay Comments twitter:description: "I don't want anyone to feel hurt because they're different" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e7d913998fdfaca/6988b47d8fd2ee5a64355517/ellen-degeneres-pharrell-kim-burress.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres Discuss Kim Burrell's Homophobic Comments  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 5, 2017 7:12 PM UTC  (Photo by Chelsea Lauren/WireImage) (Photo by Chelsea Lauren/WireImage)Chelsea Lauren—WireImage  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 5, 2017 7:12 PM UTC After [footage of gospel singer Kim Burrell’s use of the word “perverted” in reference to gay people and “the homosexual spirit”](http://time.com/4620832/kim-burrell-homophobic-comments/) during a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT5gpBaFpaw) of a sermon that surfaced last week, people wondered whether or not she would still appear on _The Ellen DeGeneres Show_, where she was slated to perform the song “I’ve Seen a Victory” from the film _Hidden Figures_ alongside Pharrell. In a pair of videos posted to Facebook Live last Friday, Burrell did not take back her words, but said that her words had been misrepresented by her “enemies” who had posted only a portion 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.” [DeGeneres announced on Tuesday that Burrell would not be performing](http://time.com/4621356/kim-burrells-ellen-degeneres-anti-gay-sermon/); instead, on Thursday’s show, Pharrell showed up to have a discussion with DeGeneres about love and acceptance in light of Burrell’s comments. “There’s no space, there’s no room for any kind of prejudice in 2017 and moving on,” Pharrell said. [Both Pharrell and Janelle Monáe (who stars in the film) condemned hate speech](http://time.com/4620832/kim-burrell-homophobic-comments/) following the backlash to the footage of Burrell. [DeGeneres emphasized that feeling discrimination because of her sexual orientation](http://time.com/4373508/ellen-degeneres-finding-dory-movie/) has given her empathy when it comes to showing others love and acceptance. “As someone who has received a lot of hate and prejudice and discrimination because of who I choose to love,” she said. “It gives me more empathy. I don’t want anyone to feel hurt because they’re different.” Watch the full clip below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4623920/pharrell-ellen-degeneres-discuss-kim-burrell/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4623920/pharrell-ellen-degeneres-discuss-kim-burrell/"},"headline":"Watch Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres Discuss Kim Burrell's Homophobic Comments","datePublished":"2017-01-05T19:12:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:56.440Z","description":"\"I don't want anyone to feel hurt because they're different\"","url":"https://time.com/4623920/pharrell-ellen-degeneres-discuss-kim-burrell/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Music","Pharrell","Ellen Degeneres","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e7d913998fdfaca/6988b47d8fd2ee5a64355517/ellen-degeneres-pharrell-kim-burress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e7d913998fdfaca/6988b47d8fd2ee5a64355517/ellen-degeneres-pharrell-kim-burress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pharrell Williams Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame","caption":"Pharrell Williams Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame","creditText":"Chelsea Lauren—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4623920/pharrell-ellen-degeneres-discuss-kim-burrell/","name":"Watch Pharrell and Ellen DeGeneres Discuss Kim Burrell's Homophobic Comments"}}]}] ```