Popular pastors being brought down by misconduct allegations, either rumored or verified, is not a new thing. Ravi Zacharias’s once prolific ministry was brought down by posthumous confirmation that he had indeed sexually abused numerous women through private massages he received. “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” tells the shocking story of pastor Mark Driscoll’s fall from grace through abusive rhetoric and “unrepentant” behavior. Now, popular author and megachurch pastor TD Jakes stands at the center of another controversy.
The allegations began before Christmas when a YouTube channel by the name of Tuff News TV began discussing a recently settled lawsuit between a woman named Cassandra Ventura, Cassie in the suit, and rapper and business mogul Sean Combs, better known as P Diddy. Ventura claimed to have met Combs in 2005 when she was 19, during which Combs allegedly began an abusive relationship with Ventura, going so far as to allegedly force Ventura to have sex with male prostitutes while Combs filmed the encounters. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but a lawyer for Combs stated the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing by Combs.
Tuff News alleged that Diddy hosted a number of “sex parties” throughout the years and that an unnamed source stated Jakes was one of the attendees. “I’m also told that multiple male escorts corroborated the fact that T.D. Jakes [has] slept with multiple men at Diddy’s parties and abroad. It’s also been said that a young male has acquired a lawyer to represent him as he is set to sue Jakes for an incident that took place when he was just 16 years old,” alleged Tuff News host Germaine McKinley. Larry Reid of Larry Reid Live claimed that the 16-year-old is a man by the name of Prophet Manasseh Jordan. Jordan has never mentioned Jakes personally on his videos but has posted a video regarding abuse in the church. Reid claims Jordan confided to him that Jakes groomed him as a young boy.
Jordan A. Hora, Executive Director of Public Relations for TD Jakes Ministries denied all allegations to The Christian Post. “Recent claims circulating on pockets of social media about Bishop T.D. Jakes are unequivocally false and baseless. Chairman Jake — undeterred by false, perverse, ignorant, and conspiratorial speculations — will persevere in his continued dedication to create meaningful change for millions around the globe guided by the timeless principles of compassion, service, and ministry,” he stated. Jakes himself appeared to address the claims at his church’s Christmas Eve service. The video is now private, but according to The Christian Post, Jakes told his congregation that he was “good.” “Would y’all please do me a favor and stop worrying about me and give God some praise and honor and glory? I can feel you . . . I am fine. I’m good. I’m good. I’m the man for the job. I’m good,” he said. He also affirmed that he would only need to repent if the allegations were true. “The worst that could happen, if everything was true, all I got to do is repent sincerely, from my heart. There’s enough power in the blood to cover all kinds of sin. I don’t care what it is, the blood would fix it. But I ain’t got to repent about this,” he said. He went on later to continue to deny the claims. “But you don’t have to plead the blood if you didn’t do the crime.”