Pharrell made it clear that hate has no space in this day and age.
The singer sat down with Ellen DeGeneres to promote the soundtrack for “Hidden Figures.” He was originally supposed to appear alongside his “I See A Victory” duet partner, Kim Burrell, but she was disinvited following a video leak of her spewing anti-gay rhetoric at the Love & Liberty Fellowship Church in Houston.
DeGeneres said she chose not to have Burrell on Thursday’s show because the homophobic remarks were directed at her and who she chooses to love.
“There’s no space, there’s no room for any kind of prejudice in 2017 and moving on,” Pharrell said, adding that he loves the gospel singer just like he chooses to love everyone. “We all have to get used to everyone’s differences and understand that this is a big, gigantic, beautiful, colorful world, and it only works with inclusion and empathy. It only works that way.”
“Whenever you hear some sort of hate speech and you feel like it doesn’t pertain to you because you may not have anything to do with that, all you got to do is put the word black in that sentence, or put gay in that sentence, or put transgender in that sentence, or put white in that sentence, and all of the sudden it starts to make sense to you,” he said. “I’m telling you, the world is a beautiful place but it does not work without empathy and inclusion. God is love. This Universe is love and that’s the only way it will function. And I get it that sometimes some of the divisive stuff works. We learned that lesson last year that divisiveness works. But you have to choose what side you’re on. I’m choosing empathy; I’m choosing inclusion; I’m choosing love for everybody just trying to lift everyone. Even when I disagree with someone, I’m wishing them the best and hoping for the best because we can’t win the other way.”
Pharrell previously posted a message against hate speech on Instagram after the release of Burrell’s sermon.
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