Kirk Franklin, influential gospel artist, apologized after his oldest son published a recording of their profanity-laced phone call that also included threats of physical violence went viral online.
“I felt extremely disrespected in that conversation, and I lost my temper. And I said words that are not appropriate. And I’m sincerely sorry to all of you. I sincerely apologize,” Franklin, 51, said in the minute-long video published to his Twitter account Saturday night.
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— Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) March 14, 2021
“I want you to know as a father during that conversation I called the family therapist and got that therapist on the phone to try to help. He never played that part of the recording,” he added.
“I’m not perfect. I’m human and I’m gonna make mistakes and I’m trying to get it right,” Franklin said.
He also asked the public to keep him and his family in their prayers.
Earlier that day, Kerrion Franklin, the gospel artists’ oldest son from a previous relationship, published a video of himself either recording or playing back part of a phone conversation between the two to his Instagram account. Kerrion describes himself as an auteur, producer, and cinematographer on the social platform.
In the brief clip Kerrion posted online, the two men can be heard exchanging words in a confrontational manner.
In the published clip of their call, Kerrion appears to tell his father to “shut the f*** up.” Kirk Franklin appears to respond in part: “…you need to get your skinny motherf*****g ass back out the goddamn way before I put my foot in your ass.”
“I will break your neck if you ever disrespect me,” Franklin yells before the line disconnects.
“This is why I’m done,” Kerrion wrote in the caption of the video of himself either recording or playing back the phone call. “No father should speak to their children like this. If I have any issues it’s because of this type of treatment that [I] deal with behind closed doors. Hanging up in my face, no apology, no compassion, no effort.”
The 32-year-old went on to say that he felt unsafe being alone with his father. He added that he prays the elder Franklin “deals with his deep hatred toward me.”
Although he has asked social media followers not to “crucify” his father and stated that he was not interested in “bash[ing] him across the board,” Kerrion still took issue with the elder Franklin’s public apology.
“He apologized to his fans only and not me. This is why I’m done,” he wrote in his Instagram story, according to a report by Yahoo! Entertainment.
Kirk Franklin, who recently launched a podcast and has a biopic in the works, made waves in the gospel music industry with his 1993 debut “Kirk Franklin & The Family.” He has since remained at the top of the industry, having recently performed for NPR’s coveted “Tiny Desk” program. Franklin, abandoned by both parents as a child, has spoken directly to fans about learning to forgive his father and getting over being disappointed by his mother.
