NEW YORK (AP) – Pharrell appeared as scheduled on the Jan. 5 Ellen DeGeneres Show without fellow singer Kim Burrell. But the gospel star, who DeGeneres had disinvited days earlier, didn’t go unmentioned.
“I didn’t think that it was good of me to have her on the show to give her a platform,” said DeGeneres, citing the church sermon in which Burrell referred to gays and lesbians as perverted. A tape of Burrell preaching that message had circulated online.
DeGeneres, one of show business’ most prominent lesbians, spoke of having suffered “a lot of hate and prejudice and discrimination because of who I choose to love.” She voiced surprise that Burrell, as an African-American woman, would engage in prejudice.
“The world is a beautiful place,” Pharrell agreed. “But it doesn’t work without inclusion and empathy.”
