Kirk Franklin says he’s still dealing with the effects of his oldest son’s decision to leak a private phone conversation between the two.
In March 2021, Kerrion Rashad Franklin shared a recording on Instagram of the conversation between himself and his father.
In the shocking clip, the gospel award-winning artist can be heard yelling, cursing, and threatening his 35-year-old son. He also said things such as “I will put my foot in your a–” and “I will break f––g your neck.”
Kirk later apologized for the remarks that still haunt him today, calling it the “worst two years of my life.”
“It traumatizes me to this day,” he told Page Six. “It is very difficult, and my wife will tell you.”
The husband of Tammy Franklin said, “That tape was a reflection of years of what our family dynamic has been going through, just so you know,” he said, “You don’t have that type of anger out there without there being a history of something.”
Kerrion is Kirk’s first child, from his past relationship with Shawn Ewing, who previously spoke up in defense of Kirk. In a now-deleted Instagram video, she expressed that her son may still be “hurting” from being raised by “teenage parents.” She also disputed Kerrion’s claim that he was “abandoned.”
The “Stomp” singer has attempted to keep his family matters private and described his firstborn as a “very talented, beautiful soul in the way that he was wired.” Using hand gestures, Kirk implied that Kerrion had been dealing with mental health issues during an interview in June 2022.
“It’s not necessarily his fault. Some of us are born with very unique wires, and a lot of times in our community it is hard for us to acknowledge certain wires. We want to think it’s something else,” he shared on “The Breakfast Club.” “We see people outside of our community … they’re very quick to lean toward science and medicine and information, right? Not our community.”
Kirk stated that the recording was taken from two separate conversations. Yet some fans felt Kerrion’s motive was to taint his father’s reputation in the industry.
“We are privately trying to address some of those things and I have to realize … that he may never understand the gravity of what he did,” said Kirk. “And for me, I may have to live with that and put his well-being before what he did.”
Regarding the recording, he admitted, “I hadn’t talked to my son in five years when he called me. But I do want people to know I love him. I want the world to hear it loud. I love my son.”
In the months following the leaked audio, Kerrion began revealing more about his relationship with his estranged father. On April 10, the reality star was arrested and held without bond. He had been pulled over by Beverly Hills Police for a routine traffic stop regarding his taillight. Police did a subsequent search of the vehicle he was driving after noticing it was owned by a missing woman who was presumed at the time to be dead. A gun also was found in the car.
After returning home during the same month as Kirk’s appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” Kerrion thanked his mother, father, and fellow gospel vet John P. Kee in an Instagram post for their continued prayers during his two-month incarceration.
It’s unclear what the status of Kirk’s relationship with Kerrion is today, but fans noticed he was not included in a family photo Kirk shared in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Kerrion is currently filming his second season of Zeus Network’s “Bad Boys” show in Los Angeles.
