ELLEN DeGeneres, one of the US's most high-profile gay stars has confirmed that Kim Burrell, the gospel singer and pastor who referred to gay people as perverted in a sermon will not be appearing on her show.
The singer, was due to appear with Pharrell Williams on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday.
But an excerpt from Ms Burrell's sermon believed to have been taped at the Love & Liberty Fellowship church in Houston, has caused a storm as she refers to "the perverted homosexual spirit".
In a later video, Burrell said "I love you and God loves you but God hates the sin in you and me."
However, DeGeneres, the comedian and presenter said on Twitter: “For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.”
Ms Williams and Pharrell during a performance of the song in December
Williams and Hidden Figures stars Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe were set to appear on the show with Ms Burrell for a performance of I See a Victory, the track she contributed to the Hidden Figures soundtrack.
The movie tells the story of a trio of African-American women working at Nasa whose skills helped put astronaut John Glenn into orbit in 1962.
Ms DeGeneres married her partner, the actress Portia de Rossi eight years ago, in what was the highest profile lesbian wedding since California changed the law to allow gay couples to tie the knot.
A video of Ms Burrell's speech went viral with many fans urged DeGeneres to rescind Burrell’s invitation with a flood of tweets and a Change.org petition that has garnered nearly 5,500 supporters.
Ms Burrell had said in video she added in a Facebook Live broadcast in the wake of the row: "I never said all gays were going to hell. I never said 'LGBT'... I said 'SIN'.
"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.
"I make no excuses or apologies. My love is as pure as it comes."
She said "enemies" had posted only a portion of her original speech.
Ms Burrell had come under fire from LGBT advocates after warning members of her congregation in the message that if they engaged in homosexual behavior while they professed to be Christians in 2017 that they would die from it.
"Anybody in the room who is living with a homosexual spirit, beg God to free you. If you play with it in 2017 you'll die from it. If you play with it in 2017 in God's house you'll die from it. Y'all came to hear about carnal, I came to tell you about sin," she said.
The controversial video of Burrell's sermon that went viral. Not for those easily offended.
"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.
"You cannot give instructions to God's holiness with that much perversion. You, as a man, would open your mouth and take a man's p***s in your face? You are perverted and you better not tell me, thus saith the Lord. You are perverted," she said. "You are a woman that would shake your face in another woman's br****s? You are perverted, and its coming into our church and it has embarrassed the Kingdom of God."
Singing star Pharrell and Janelle Monáe moved to condemn hate speech in the wake of the sermon.
Pharrell, best known for his Grammy-winning work as a musician and producer, as well as for the huge No. 1 hit Happy, posted a note on Instagram that read, "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 in beyond."
Monáe reposted the same image, along with a longer note in the caption, writing, "I unequivocally repudiate ANY AND ALL hateful comments against the LGBTQ community."
She added: "I am personally beyond exhausted by the ignorance and bigotry living in some people. At times I want to punch and I want to slap a lot of people when I read and hear the shit that comes out their mouthes! I will rejoice when folks stop thinking they ARE GOD, Jesus' assistant, picking and choosing what 'sins' are acceptable in the Bible, and using the Bible as a whip!"
Burrell said in response to the backlash on a video message: "I was addressing church people, and let's get specific, ones who were in my church. My church where I pastor and that's what's so demonic about all of this.
"We're not in a war against flesh and blood. We are not in a war with that. I care about God's creation and every person from the LGBT and everything else, any other kind of thing that is supporting gays. I never said LGBT last night. I said S-I-N. And whatever falls into sin was preached.
"Now what was posted was not all I preached to. That [video clip] is designed by the enemy to make it look like I have a personal agenda against people."
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