(Photo: Screengrab)
Yesterday, Kirk Franklin, along with his wife Tammy sat with television host Tamron Hall to talk about the vulgar audio leaked by Franklin’s son, Kerrion Franklin.
In the video, listeners can hear Franklin screaming, “BOY, I WILL BREAK YOUR NECK, *****! DON’T YOU EVER DISRESPECT ME!”
During the interview with Hall, Franklin admitted that his problematic father-son relationship with Kerrion has been an issue in the family for years.
“A lot of people in our family and community, privately have known for over twenty years of the tension and challenges we’ve been going through as a family,” he said.
According to Franklin, the challenges began when Kerrion was a teenager. The gospel legend told Hall how they sought help for the troubled teen. “We started him with therapy and counseling, and we’ve had him in and out of counseling for over twenty years.”
But in an Instagram post, Kerrion claimed “#ParentalAbuse” and that “counseling stopped because you caused #Battery i still didn’t press charges and you quit counseling” he wrote. In another incident, Kerrion alleged that Franklin threatened to “beat [his] a** in front of TMZ.”
However, Franklin has denied any claims of abuse. “There’s never been anything physical that concerns me or even makes me uncomfortable because I know the truth. He knows the truth,” Franklin assured Hall.
Despite what has transpired between Franklin and Kerrion over the past week, Franklin maintains his love for his son.
“[I] love him as a young man. I am still his dad, but as his father and an older adult he needs to have a level of respect.”
Hall asked Franklin, 51, whether he respected his son who is nearly 33 years old.
“I respect Kerrion,” Franklin stated. “[But] when you talk to me, especially about things that you’ve said that you want from me, I can’t hear you when you’re extremely aggressive when you’re communicating.”
Tammy, Franklin’s wife of 25 years, acknowledged the strain her stepson and husband’s relationship has had on the family. “It has been a very hard and difficult situation with our family for years,” she said. She further stated that things have gotten so bad between Franklin and Kerrion “to the point where my husband has to have someone on the phone to help because it has become that combustible.”
In the background of the recording, a third person can be heard laughing during the heated conversation. Rumors spread accusing Tammy of being the third party, but both Franklin and Tammy denied the accusations. Rather, Franklin explained that the laughter came from his best friend who is also like an uncle to Kerrion.
(Photo: screengrab)
The now viral video has reached 806,722 views on Instagram at the time of this article and has been hurtful for the songwriter. Kerrion releasing the audio “was very painful” and “having my son record our conversations was a big shock for me,” Franklin said.
On Saturday, Franklin released a video apologizing for his actions. Hall asked Franklin if there was anything further he wished to say to those who were surprised by what they heard.
“People have every right to be disappointed in me when they hear me use that language,” Franklin stated, before adding, “I am disappointed in myself for using that language. And at the same time, I’m human… I’m an imperfect man fighting to serve a perfect God.”