Pastor Tony Evans says he had to get in touch with Kirk Franklin after the gospel artist’s son released a recording of him cursing and making threats of physical harm.
“I had a big reaction. I called him. When I heard about it, I corrected him. I told him he needed to apologize publicly since the rant went public,” Evans told the Religion News Service.
“I know about the situation in the family and I know how that situation could have led to an escalation of anger. But what he did was let righteous indignation become unrighteous communication, and he was both challenged and corrected for that. And that’s part of the accountability that every man needs in his life,” Evans added.
Franklin, who has long counted Pastor Evans as a father figure, publicly apologized in March after his eldest son released a recording of one of their phone calls. In the call, Franklin can be heard cursing and threatening his son with physical harm.
The gospel artist initially explained that he lost his cool because he felt “extremely disrespected in that conversation.”
“And I said words that are not appropriate. And I’m sincerely sorry to all of you. I sincerely apologize,” Franklin, 51, said in a minute-long video published to his Twitter account after the publicized recording.
As Faithfully Magazine previously reported:
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.
The 32-year-old claimed his father held a “deep hatred” toward him and that he doesn’t feel safe around the elder Franklin. The father and son have reportedly long been in therapy to work through their issues.
