WASHINGTON — The mayor of Washington canceled a prominent gospel singer’s invitation to headline a civil-rights concert after homosexual-rights activists objected to the singer’s past comments that God “delivered” him from a same-sex-attracted lifestyle.

“These are bully tactics, simply because of stances that I took, never ever demeaning, never ever derogatorily addressing any lifestyle,” Rev. Donnie McClurkin, a black Christian minister, said in a seven-minute video statement Aug. 10.

The singer said Mayor Vincent Gray “uninvited me from a concert that I was supposed to headline.” McClurkin called it unfortunate that “a black man, a black artist is uninvited from a civil-rights movement depicting the love, the unity, the peace, the tolerance.”

McClurkin was supposed to sing at an event sponsored by the city government at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The event commemorated the 50th anniversary of King’s March on Washington — during which the civil-rights leader and Christian minister delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Several homosexual-rights advocates objected to McClurkin’s appearance, including local activist Phil Pannell.

Pannell told The Washington Post he spoke to the mayor’s office Aug. 9 about McClurkin’s past comments on homosexuality, contending they were not in the spirit of Rev. Martin Luther King.

In previous statements, McClurkin attributed his same-sex inclinations to being molested by male relatives at age 8 and age 13.

“I’ve been through this and have experienced God’s power to change my lifestyle,” he said in 2002. “I am delivered, and I know God can deliver others, too.”

Gray’s office said that McClurkin’s management, together with the D.C. Arts and Humanities Commission, decided together that it would be best for him to withdraw “because the purpose of the event is to bring people together,” according to the Post.

“Mayor Gray said the purpose of the event is to promote peace and harmony. That is what King was all about,” Gray spokeswoman Doxie McCoy said.

McClurkin rejected the claim that he withdrew after mutual agreement.

“It’s a shame,” he said in his video statement. “It’s bullying; it’s discrimination; it’s intolerance; it’s depriving someone of their civil rights when told that they cannot come to an event, if by coming it would cause a disruption.”

He said pastors had called the mayor’s office to object to the decision, offering to pay for the portion of the concert, but the mayor still refused.

McClurkin has rejected charges that his comments bear hatred. “There should be freedom of speech as long as it’s done in love,” he said.

According to the minister, the mayor’s chief of staff, Chris Murphy, told him it would be in his own best interest not to come, so he would not suffer vilification in social media and the news media.

Like several other regions of the U.S., Washington has caused increasing difficulties for those who do not approve of homosexual relations. The district’s redefinition of marriage to accommodate same-sex couples forced Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington to shut down its foster care and public adoption programs. The law required the agency to place children with same-sex couples. The programs closed in 2010 after decades of service.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. himself addressed the issue of same-sex attraction in an advice column he wrote for Ebony magazine from 1957-1958. King characterized it as a not uncommon “problem” that requires “careful attention.” He praised a letter writer for recognizing his “problem” and having “a desire to solve it.”