In December, Netflix announced that Tyler Perry’s “Beauty in Black” will be renewed for a final Season 3. But no date has been announced.
Some Beauty in Black fans assumed the delay was due to the controversy surrounding actor Xavier Smalls, who has made offensive and vile comments about the LGBTQ+ community.
Xavier, 28, has since apologized for his hateful comments on February 7, in which he referred to homosexuality as “an abomination”.
Xavier also made similar comments about the ghey community last year.
According to UK’s Attitude, Instagram user Paul Poulos recorded Xavier’s controversial comments in February.
“I screen recorded it live & yes the recording is legitimate,” Poulos wrote.
Xavier stated in a live podcast that God treats ghey people like all “sinners” and “unholy people.”
Xavier said God “loves all His children, whether you’re an atheist, whether you curse Him, whether you live in sin. Whether you’re drunk, smoke weed, whatever, He still loves you.”
He added, “But, He’ll send you to hell, because when you die, there’s only two places, right? And if you live in sin on this Earth, He’s so Holy, He’s so grand beyond our imagination, you can’t kick it with Him in Heaven. Not because He doesn’t love you, but because He’s so Holy, He can’t dwell with unholy people.”
When Paul asked whether LGBTQ+ people will be condemned, Xavier replied, “That goes for other sinners, scoffers, mockers, liars, all things that are an abomination. It’s not just the LGBT. If you’re drunk, if you’re an alcoholic, if you’re a murderer, these are all sins that God doesn’t tolerate.”
The backlash was swift. Bloggers and LGBTQ+ influencers dragged Xavier for days on X.com, TikTok, and Instagram.
One person wrote, “You mean the man that plays a male prostitute on TV?”
Another person wrote: “I love when people act like they know who’s going to hell and who’s going to heaven, as if they’re God and have all the answers.”
They tagged his boss, Tyler Perry, on social media. Tyler has been sued by men accusing him of sexual assault and harassment on the set.
In a statement posted on Instagram over the weekend, Xavier said “some very smart people” reached out to him and made him see the error in his words.
Xavier said he looked back on what he said with “different eyes”, and he’s taken time to listen to others’ perspectives. “I understand now how my approach may have lacked the love, humility, and awareness that I believe God calls us to have,” he wrote.
He added, “They corrected me in love. They did not condemn me, but instead helped me gain greater insight and understanding.”
He acknowledged that “the damage done by my words outweighs the intent behind them.”
Xavier said he has a better understanding of the impact his words may have on young people and gay teens who are considering suicide.
“Hearing these stories helped me see more clearly why words can carry so much weight,” he explained.
