Franklin previously boycotted the annual music event due to the way they edited their award show when he took part. Franklin won an award in 2019 and during his speech he spoke on racial justice.

When the ceremony aired on TBN, the racial justice part of his speech was edited out of the show. Franklin posted a video on social media and explained what happened.

In the video, Franklin said that he would be boycotting the show until they made changes to the structure of their organisation. Franklin received support from several artists including Lecrae.

GMAs executive director and president, Jackie Patillo, formally apologised to Franklin for the missteps that took place.

Part of the statement reads: With that said, we would like to publicly acknowledge that we are deeply apologetic for the missteps that happened relating to the editing of Kirk Franklins Dove Awards acceptance speech.  We accept the responsibility of our error.

Following on from this controversy, both Franklin and Lecrae have been nominated for awards at the 2021 ceremony. Franklin has been nominated for gospel artist of the year while Lecraes Restoration album has been nominated for rap/hip hop album of the year.

The 2021 Dove Award nominations were announced on Wednesday (August 11). To see the complete list of nominees, click here.

Gospel artist of the year:

CeCe Winans

Jonathan McReynolds

Kirk Franklin

Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Travis Greene

Rap/hip hop album of the year:

3:34 - Zauntee

Feared by Hell - Social Club Misfits

His Glory Alone - KB

Restoration - Lecrae

The Divine Storm - Ty Brasel

Written by Hannah Lovejoy, Premier Gospel Presenter

Friday, 13 August 2021

Kirk Franklin and Lecrae have both received nominations from the Gospel Music Associations 2021 Dove Awards.