Gospel singer Kirk Franklin has long been known for his transparent relationship with his fans and his ability to channel life’s challenges into music that uplifts.
In 2023, with the release of his “Father’s Day” album, Franklin offered an even more personal glimpse into his life, revealing what it was like to meet his biological father, Rick Hubbard, for the first time in his 50s.
In the accompanying behind-the-scenes video, Franklin not only met his father but also reconnected with his estranged son, Kerrion.
This reunion also brought another figure back into the spotlight—his biological mother, Debra, with whom he had cut ties over 23 years ago.
Debra’s appearance in the video, marked the first time in decades that she and Franklin had been in communication. But the gospel superstar has never spoken publicly about why he stopped speaking to her in the first place.
Franklin finally opened up about his mother the heartbreaking story in an interview on Cam Newton’s “Funky Friday” podcast, sharing how his efforts to help his sister, Swana, led to a rift that has yet to heal.
The Houston native stated that everything went wrong when he, still a young man trying to get his life together, tried to help his sister, Swana, and felt like his mother had put her husband above him and his sister’s needs.
Swana had just been released from prison and was battling drug addiction.
“I’m the only one trying to help her,” Franklin recalled. “She needs a lot of help… where’s she going to stay? What’s she going to do?”
Determined to support his sister, the “Revolution” singer found a ministry and “paid these two ladies to just kind of mother her and nurture her.”
But despite his best efforts, Franklin soon realized he couldn’t handle it all on his own, saying to Newton, “It was more than a 32-year-old boy could handle.”
An overwhelmed Franklin turned to his family and reached out to his biological mother, his Aunt Debra, and his other aunt, Sandra, hoping they could come together for an intervention to support his sister. But when the family gathered, the situation quickly deteriorated.
He described the moment his mother arrived — with a man no one in the family had ever met.
“She showed up with her new husband,” Franklin said, still sounding stunned by the memory. “Nobody knew who this man was.”
This unexpected addition to the gathering added tension to an already delicate situation.
As the intervention unfolded, Debra’s temper flared, making an already difficult moment even harder.
“My biological mother has always had a temper,” Franklin explained. “The way she was communicating with my sister was not compassionate, was not healing … it was very difficult to watch.”
Despite the rising tensions, Franklin tried to keep the focus on helping Swana. But the situation took a dramatic turn when Debra’s new husband, who had been mostly silent until then, suddenly spoke up.
“What you need to do is call your Mama sometime,” he said, directing his words at Franklin.
Stunned and angry, Franklin responded, “I said, ‘Sir, I don’t know who you are, but she’s the mother, I’m the child.’”
The situation escalated rapidly, with emotions running high, according to Franklin and the back and forth resulted in the Stella Award-winner about to fight his mother’s husband. Franklin described the scene that followed as one of the most painful moments of his life.
“My mother did something that crushed my heart,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion. “She grabbed his hand and said, ‘Come on baby, let’s go,’ and she walked out of the house on her two kids and she stood by the side of this n-i-g-g-a.”
Franklin recounted how his mother chose her new husband over her own children, showing how it still impacts him.
“The fact that she took that man’s hand and didn’t say to him, ‘Baby, you stay over there; this is between me and my kids…’ It broke me.”
That moment was a turning point for Franklin, marking the beginning of over two decades of silence between him and his mother.
“I promised myself … I would never be put in a position where you will ever be able to do me like that again,” he said.
And so, Franklin decided to stop speaking to having any contact with his mother until his biological father came in his life, a man different than the man Debra had told him was his dad all of his life.
During that meeting in 2023, which was the first time that she saw her 20-time Grammy winning-son, she denied that Hubbard was her famous son’s father despite two DNA tests to verify paternity.
Kirk Franklin finds out who his real dad is by a paternity test (results were 99.99999%), but his mom still denies that that’s his father pic.twitter.com/HoFurdoydW
— tasha💗 (@kweentash_) September 18, 2023
He told Newton, he just doesn’t have the capacity to keep trying.
“After all that I’ve gone through… I’m good, I’m good for me,” he said, sounding resigned. “There’s nothing else to do.”
He also dropped a gem on the viewers, “At some point, you’ve got to save what’s still together. … You can’t give them everything to break,” acknowledging the difficult balance between love and self-care.
Fans of Franklin expressed deep sympathy for the singer who has brought so much joy into their lives through his music.
One YouTube viewer commented, “Man I feel that hurt in his voice! Kirk still hurting deep from that,” while another said, “Every time I hear about his upbringing, I feel so sad for the little boy inside of him. He is beyond the nurturing at this point. The little boy in him is forever shattered.”
Another shared, “Kirk it’s her loss. Move on and just pray for her,” as one more said, “He is speaking of a wall that many of us have put up. My God this is me regarding my relationship with my father.”
Scores of people shared similar stories about how their mothers had done them wrong in their lives.
The ordeal of losing his mother again and gaining his father has also influenced Franklin’s approach to parenting.
Kirk Franklin wishes his dad a happy Father’s Day for the very first time. ❤️✍🏾: #TSRStaffBD pic.twitter.com/BzGhez3dcx
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) June 16, 2024
He has made it a priority to restore his relationship with his eldest son, Kerrion, of whom he had when he was a teen and homeless. The two had a very public falling-out in 2021. Their strained relationship made headlines when Kerrion leaked audio of Franklin cursing at him during an argument they had while on the phone.
Kirk Franklin’s son leaks audio of his dad cursing him out. 🤷🏽♀️ I think Kirk just called it like he saw it. | 🆆🅴🆄🅽🅱🅾🆃🅷🅴🆁🅴🅳 | #kirkfranklin x #kerrionfranklin #weunbothered pic.twitter.com/M1jI8Sc6Gb
— ᗯEᑌᑎᗷOTᕼEᖇEᗪ (@weunbothered1) March 14, 2021
But through the process of working on the “Father’s Day” project, the two have begun to take steps toward healing their father-son bond.
The “My Life, My Love, My All” singer is also the father of Caziah Rashad Franklin, his youngest son with his wife Tammy. Caziah recently got married, and his father posted pictures of the nuptials and wrote a lengthy post about the couple’s love.
The posting of the joyous occasion could be seen as a sign that he is breaking the cycle of dysfunction that began with his estranged mother.
Fans online are also lending support to Franklin, who buried his longtime music collaborator, Shaun Martin on Aug. 17 in Dallas Texas. Martin, a multiple Grammy winner, who suffered a stroke more than a year ago, died at 45.
