During a Kirk Franklin interview on The Baller Alert Show, the gospel star grew emotional as host BT described the judgment and financial disparities he remembers seeing in church. BT said those experiences changed how he worships, prompting Franklin to apologize for the pain and urge him not to give up on God.
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BT opened up about being raised around church but struggling to connect with what he heard and saw. Instead of conversations centered on faith, he remembered people discussing neighbors who had lost jobs, fallen behind on bills, or had their electricity shut off.“What are we talking about this at church for?” he asked, recalling how bewildered he felt. BT said he visited different churches, yet kept encountering the kind of conversations that left him uncomfortable. He had come to hear about God, not listen to other people’s financial struggles become the subject of conversation.
“I don’t wanna be around this type of energy,” BT said, describing why he gradually pulled away from those settings. He explained that the atmosphere felt judgmental and that conversations about hardship seemed especially uncomfortable when so many people were struggling themselves.
BT described people discussing “the poverty that we all living in because we all broke,” rather than keeping the focus on God. He wanted a different atmosphere for worship, one that did not leave him feeling judged alongside the people whose struggles were being discussed.
As the Kirk Franklin interview continued, BT described what he saw as a troubling difference between the pastor’s lifestyle and the circumstances of church members.
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“You see the pastor drive off in a nice car and then everybody else is struggling,” he said. BT recalled a pastor brushing off concerns about what the pastor was doing, while also raising the subject of offerings. He did not identify a specific pastor or congregation.
Franklin didn’t challenge BT’s account.
“Yes, that’s heartbreaking,” he responded.
When BT emphasized that these were experiences he personally lived through, Franklin repeated, “That is heartbreaking.” His response became a more personal expression of concern.
In the Kirk Franklin interview, the gospel artist then offered an apology, saying he was sorry for the experiences BT and others had endured. He described that kind of hurt as traumatic and said it affected how people viewed the faith that churches were supposed to represent.
“It paints a horrible picture of the heart of God,” Franklin told him.
He also said such experiences created a damaging picture of Jesus Christ. Rather than treat BT’s frustration as a failure to understand religion, he addressed the behavior that had made church feel unwelcoming.
Franklin had one request.
“Please don’t give up on God because of that foolishness,” he said.
BT immediately clarified that leaving those environments did not mean walking away from his beliefs.
“No, I never gave up on God,” BT replied.
He explained that he learned to practice his own worship in his own space, without feeling surrounded by judgment. He had not rejected his faith. He had chosen a setting where he could practice it differently.
