Yolanda Adams Responds to Critics, Tells Haters to ‘Stop’ Amid Negative Reaction to Her Daring Outfits

Gospel music star Yolanda Adams refuses to let fans pigeonhole her style, confidence, and message as a gospel artist.

The Grammy Award winner wants social media critics to “stop” caring after she recently faced criticism for wearing tight clothes.

“Because I was raised in a very free-thinking family where everyone had their own voice and talent, I didn’t feel the need to be anything other than Yolanda,” Adams said in a brand new interview with People“And it was very visible, not only in music, but also in fashion.”

Over the many years of her profession, the “Open My Heart” singer has been revered for her powerful voice and music, inspiring hundreds of thousands of individuals and becoming a distinguished figure on the earth of music.

Despite her success, which incorporates 14 studio albums, three Grammy Awards, and becoming the primary female artist to win an American Music Award for Contemporary/Inspirational Artist, she has faced criticism for her wardrobe selections, particularly outfits that some consider too revealing or too tight for the gospel singer.

Adams got here under critical fire following the discharge of her seventh album, 2001’s Believe.

The album cover features the singer in an electrical blue, tight, crocheted GiGi Hunter dress. The dress and the album were hits with fans but irritated some traditionalists within the genre.

“Because I don’t have the typical gospel singer body type, I think it was easy for me to just pick what I wanted and then just wear what I wanted,” Adams explains. “Again, I didn’t grow up in a home where we had restrictions on what we could wear, what we couldn’t wear, what we could listen to, what we couldn’t listen to in my family.”

Comedian Steve Harvey remarked on the singer’s beauty in the course of the 2005 Celebration of Gospel. During his hosting performance, the comedian exclaimed, “Yolanda sho’ is sexy,” describing his fascination together with her presence. The topic was further explored in his 2006 comedy special Don’t Trip, He Ain’t Through with Me Yet.

“When he said it, I knew he was joking. I knew he was joking,” Adams said, referring to Harvey, whom she calls her “brother.” “But when he said it, it caught me off guard, but then I started reading what people were saying, you know, commenting on it.”

The “Victory” singer then admitted that she had mixed feelings when she began reading fans’ reactions.

“It’s like, ‘yeah, she’s like,’ it’s okay. I wish she was my wife.” No!” she continues with a laugh. “That sort of thing. And after all there have been some who (said), ‘well, I do not know the way she dresses together with her shoulders off and all that.’ Ma’am, that is the Shrine Auditorium. This will not be third Baptist Church across Ecclesiastes Road.”

Adams caused much more of a stir in 2016 when she wore a cleavage-baring gown to the 2016 Stellar Awards.

Before the whispers got too loud, fellow gospel singer Erica Campbell he defended Adams in X (then Twitter), writing“Did the Saints Really Have a Problem with Yolanda Adams’ Dress on Stellars?”

After fans said the old rules and standards ought to be thrown out the window, Campbell replied“I love your answers. We need to focus on our souls and not get caught up in a person’s appearance.”

The debate about expectations of modesty and conservatism will not be limited to individuals with a 6’1″ model’s figure or people with pseudonyms “The Gospel Stallion” equivalent to Adams, but for anyone who dares to step outside the arbitrary mold imposed on artists on this genre.

With her ability to attract a various fan base, Adams has at all times represented the intersection of religion and private expression, championing a culture that celebrates diversity throughout the gospel community and throughout the genre of music.

“I thank God for the way I was raised because I don’t have those limitations and I don’t put them on anyone else. When I see you, I see that loving spirit. And that’s how I want to live,” she concluded.