Kirk Franklin found himself in a tense encounter with a man who shouted that the gospel star and his wife, Tammy Collins, were “going to go to hell” after Franklin’s scheduled performance at Gospel on Independence in Philadelphia was canceled on June 28 due to severe weather.
Kirk Franklin: Gospel on Independence incident: What happened?
A video of the incident, shared by The Art of Dialogue on Sunday, captured Franklin, 56, attempting to reason with a heated crowd member after the cancellation. The man repeatedly insisted the singer needed to “repent” for his sins as Franklin tried to de-escalate the situation.
At one point, Franklin appeared to mouth, “I love you,” to the upset man while attempting to give him a hug, but the gesture was rejected. It remains unclear what led to the confrontation.
“You’re gaslighting, you need to repent,” the man shouted back. “If anybody teaches a different doctrine, I can not shake their hand.”
The exchange grew more heated when the man continued yelling at Franklin.
“You need to repent, you and your wife are going to go to hell,” he shouted at one point.
Security quickly stepped in as the Gospel singer became visibly angry, holding him back and moving him away from the man before the confrontation could escalate further.
Kirk Franklin remained in good spirits after the encounter.
Despite the tense encounter, Franklin later appeared to make light of the situation on Instagram, writing, “I need the weather to repent LOL!” in the caption of a video, in which he let fans know how disappointed he was about the cancellation. The video captured a few fans of the Gospel star revealing they had traveled from other states to see him at the event on Sunday.
Franklin said he was “really excited” for his Gospel on Independence set.
“But the weather, man, we got rained out,” he continued. “But I need you to know, I was really really ready to go. I’ll be back. I can’t let Philly down like that,” Franklin promised.
According to CBS News, Franklin was scheduled to headline Gospel on Independence, an annual celebration held at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. The event opened with performances by singer Paula Holloway and a choir of more than 100 singers representing churches from across the Philadelphia region.
However, just as Franklin was preparing to take the stage, organizers canceled the remainder of the event because of an approaching severe storm and lightning in the area.
Following the announcement, Franklin took a moment to connect with the disappointed crowd. Social media footage obtained by reporter PhillyChitChat showed the Grammy-winning artist climbing onto the roof of his SUV to greet fans who had gathered around him after the cancellation.
Standing above the cheering crowd, Franklin thanked fans for attending despite the weather and assured them he would return for another opportunity to perform.
