Kirk Franklin continues to have a strained relationship with his mother three years after discovering the identity of his biological father.
The gospel artist appeared on the September 17 episode of The Angie Martinez Show and around the 23-minute mark of the video below, Franklin gave an update on his estranged relationship with his mother, Debra Jones. Franklin met his biological father, Richard Hubbard, in 2023 prompting the title of his thirteenth studio album, Father’s Day, and a documentary of the same name. For years, Franklin thought another man, Dwight Allen, was his biological father and met him just weeks before his passing in 2018. Franklin was legally adopted at 4 years old by his grand-aunt.
After detailing his troubled relationship with his mother, who Franklin claims began to acknowledge him when his musical career got off the ground, the gospel artist explained that Jones still avoids the truth about his father.
“Even quite a few years ago, this whole thing about me discovering my new dad, she still denies it,” Franklin told Martinez. “Two DNA tests,” he continued, adding, “All them 999s and she says, ‘That they ain't your daddy.’”
“It’s very painful and I haven’t seen her since,” he said. “Even the little documentary that I did…she walked out. “But that's consistent with my life experience with her, though.”
In a 2023 interview with People, Franklin shared that his mother was “adamant” that Hubbard was not his father despite the paternity results revealing otherwise. The Christian vocalist also has a difficult relationship with his oldest son, Kerrion, who has alleged being a victim of child abuse, and in 2021, leaked phone audio of Franklin explicitly threatening him. Franklin would ultimately deny claims of physical abuse and shared that they were attending counseling.
