Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is not happy with the Dove Awards. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Grammy award-winning singer is so displeased with recent events that he’s actually decided to boycott the awards. Monday, Franklin announced via his social media platforms that he would no longer attend any events associated with the Dove Awards, GMA, or TBN. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“Not only did they edit my speech, they edited the African American experience,” Franklin said.
While accepting the Gospel Artist of the Year award, in real-time, at the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards earlier this month, Franklin addressed a police shooting that occurred a few days prior.
“A young girl by the name of Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed in her home by a policeman, and I am just asking that we send up prayers for her family and for his, and asking that we send up prayers for that 8-year-old little boy that saw that tragedy,” he said.
When the show aired almost a week later, it had been edited significantly to fit the two-hour window, according to GMA, and did not include Kirk’s portion of the speech regarding the shooting.
Since Kirk’s announcement, the GMA has issued a deeply apologetic statement clarifying their intent was never to disregard or silence any of their artists. However, this is not the first time Franklin’s statement was edited. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In 2016, at the Dove Awards, he spoke about police brutality and called on other Christian artists to speak out about racial injustices as well. That speech was also edited before being aired on TBN.
The GMA said they take full responsibility for their error and apologize for its unintentional effects. “We accept the responsibility of our error. Although completely unintentional, we understand it caused great harm and deeply wounded many in the African American and Gospel community,” the association said, adding that they have also reached out to the singer to discuss possible solutions moving forward.
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