💔 “I’M SORRY” — Beauty in Black Actor Xavier Smalls Speaks Out!QT

Beauty in Black actor Xavier Smalls is apologizing for a recently-resurfaced clip from his Feb. 7 social media broadcast in which he compared LGBT people to murderers and called them an “abomination.”

In a lengthy Instagram statement published on Sunday, Smalls wrote that he has “taken time to listen” to friends, including those within the LGBTQ+ community, since the clip resurfaced and now understands “how my approach may have lacked the love, humility, and awareness that I believe God calls us to have.”

He continued, “Allow me to be very clear about my heart and intentions. Nothing I shared was meant to condemn or harm anyone. Every human being deserves dignity, compassion, and most importantly love.”

The actor, who plays Angel on the Netflix drama series created by Tyler Perry, noted that he takes “full accountability” for the damage done by his remarks, adding, ‘I truly regret that my words caused pain, and I pray that you are able to see my heart in the midst of all this.”

Smalls wrote that he is “still learning and I will continue to learn and grow” moving forward. “I am truly sorry for any pain or hurt that my words caused,” he continued. “Please do not let anyone make you feel less than, including me. I will do better.”

His apology comes after a one-minute screen recording of his comments went viral on social media over a month after its initial broadcast. The screen recording appeared to be lifted from the actor’s Instagram page. While Entertainment Weekly was not able to view the video during its original broadcast, the person who reportedly captured it sent the recording to EW.

“The live was on February 7th 2026 at 5:20PM,” Instagram user Paul Poulos, who posts on the site under the handle @monsterstargaga (which also appears in the recording), tells EW. “I screen recorded it live & yes the recording is legitimate.”

In a portion of the broadcast in Poulos’ screen recording, Smalls told his followers that “God loves you,” and that “he 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.”

“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,” Smalls continued in the clip. “Not because he doesn’t love you, but because he’s so holy, he can’t dwell with unholy people.”

After Poulos wrote in the live broadcast’s comments section asking him if LGBT people are going to hell as well, Smalls 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.”

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EW has reached out to representatives for Smalls, Netflix, and Perry for comment.

Smalls’ words came after he completed his three-season run on Beauty in Black, Perry’s Netflix TV series about two women whose paths cross in dramatic ways. On the show, Smalls played Angel, a male stripper.

The project has welcomed several LGBTQ+ cast members to appear since its 2024 debut, including RuPaul’s Drag Race judge and Bros actress Ts Madison, a prominent trans personality who played small role across five episodes between seasons 1 and 2.

Daytime TV icon Kathie Lee Gifford also came under fire recently after she made comments that many interpreted as being anti-LGBTQ+, during an interview with controversial conservative personality Tomi Lahren.

“I don’t even know how many letters there are now. They’ve really got to stop with that. We know what you mean, you know?” Gifford said, referencing the number of letters in the LGBTQ+ acronym. “I’m not telling anybody how to live their life. I never have. I just know what Jesus said: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love God first.”

She also told Lahren that “the scriptures do have something to say about” the LGBTQ+ community.