Coming up in the Black and largely Protestant City of Detroit, it felt like a revolutionary act to abandon the church and organized religion as I did as a teenager in the mids. But I had little recourse: As soon as I developed some adult-adjacent sense, I looked around and realized that the milk was sour throughout the institution. I watched with disdain as Black pastors and church leaders fomented hatred toward the LGBTQ community while also rolling around in chromed-out Benzes on the precious dimes of their poor congregants. Travis Kelce isn't in the honeymoon phase anymore.
Megachurch pastor TD Jakes brought a defamation claim in November against a former pastor, saying explosive allegations of a decades old sexual assault were false. Former pastor Duane Youngblood, 58, accused Jakes, 67, in a podcast last year of attempting to corner and involuntarily kiss him over 40 years ago. Last month, Youngblood filed a motion to strike the defamation complaint. His brother Richard filed an affidavit in support of Duane's motion and claimed the megachurch donor preyed upon him years ago when they shared a hotel room during a ministry bed, alleging similar conduct to his brother's original accusation.
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