“I would say organizations that want to come together for good, let it happen,” she said in a Thursday (Jan. 11) interview with Religion News Service in response to Butler’s assessment. “The past is the past, but at some point, you have to figure out how do you course correct, and so our partnerships, a lot, are about course correction. And we’re excited about that. We have access to the community that they want to serve or serve better.”
Bishop T.D. Jakes is the senior pastor at The Potter’s House of Dallas. (Photo courtesy of The Potter’s House of Dallas)
More recently, unverified allegations of sexual misconduct at parties hosted by hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs have put Jakes in headlines. In December, a TikTok and YouTube video alleged that Jakes engaged in gay sex at Combs’ parties. Separately, a talk-show host accused Jakes of improper behavior with a young male.
Jakes, 66, was not available for an interview at the time of the early January revival but appeared to deny the claims during his Christmas Eve sermon.
“I will not use his sacred day and this sacred pulpit to address a lie when I have a chance to preach a truth,” he said. “I will stand straight up, head up, back straight, and preach the unadulterated, infallible word of God because that is what the pulpit is for. But there will be a time.”
His ministry responded more directly when asked for a statement.
“Recent claims circulating on pockets of social media about Bishop T.D. Jakes are unequivocally false and baseless, said Jordan A. Hora, executive director of PR & communications for T.D. Jakes Group, T.D. Jakes Ministries and The Potter’s House in a statement.
“It’s disheartening to witness the proliferation of numerous deepfake photos and the distortion of words through false, sensationalized misrepresentations, encapsulating purported statements to falsely speculate and attack others, including Bishop Jakes. … Chairman Jakes, 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.”
Derrick Williams, executive vice president of T.D. Jakes Entertainment, added a statement related specifically to Jakes’ connections to Combs, who chaired REVOLT Media & TV, a Black-owned media company that announced in 2021 it would feature a sermon series hosted by Jakes.
“As a filmmaker, executive producer and one of the pioneers of value-based movies, Bishop Jakes, in his role as CEO of T.D. Jakes Entertainment, paid respect to the former Chairman of Revolt during the celebration of his birthday,” Williams stated. “We both greeted the family, Bishop Jakes recorded a brief celebratory birthday video and left immediately to take our other scheduled meetings. Any accusation to the contrary is wholly unsubstantiated, unverified and false.”
While some of the companies Jakes leads or works with, including his foundation, did not respond to requests for comment about the rumors, a number of his collaborators were quick to express their support for him.
“Bishop Jakes is too smart to do something that these people are accusing him of,” said Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr. of First Baptist Glenarden, who co-hosted the January revival with leaders of D.C.’s Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church. “I don’t subscribe to just embracing accusations like that.”
Bishop T.D. Jakes speaks during a revival on Jan. 5, 2024, at First Baptist Church of Glenarden International in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. (Photo by Lee Bonds, courtesy First Baptist Church of Glenarden)
Values Partnerships CEO Joshua DuBois, who most recently worked with Jakes on mental health campaigns for Black men, Hispanic men and faith leaders, described Jakes as a leader focused on eternal truths, “not sort of short-term, cultural conversations and innuendo,” in a January interview with RNS.
