*Bishop T.D. Jakes has filed a defamation lawsuit against pastor Duane Youngblood in response to sexual abuse allegations.
When Youngblood appeared on the October 27 episode of the podcast Larry Reid Live, he alleged that Jakes attempted to sexually assault him when he was a teenager, Ice Cream Convos reports. He also claimed that the renowned megachurch leader tried to groom him. Youngblood and his attorney initially demanded $6 million from Jakes to resolve the matter privately. The bishop refused to comply and opted to address the allegations legally.
In the lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania federal court, Jakes denies the accusations, calling them “knowingly false” and financially motivated. His legal team stated that the lawsuit aims to “bring this scheme to a halt and restore Bishop Jakes’s reputation.”
The filing mentions Youngblood’s past as a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania, where he previously pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting multiple teenage boys.
Youngblood claims to be a reformed homosexual, even writing a book titled “Freedom from Homosexuality: No Longer Living the Lie.”
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Larry Reid addressed the case in an Instagram post captioned: “The discovery process has me concerned. Duane can have others subpoenaed and they must tell the truth under oath. This can become a media storm that no one walks away from unscathed. Well, I did my part in letting Duane use my platform. My name is Larry Reid and I’m out.”
In the post’s comments, one user wrote, “The church folks said the same thing about Eddie Long right before he was exposed… yall put these men on a pedestal. It’s the same story different pastor.. the Catholic Church and the black church all the same.”
Another added, “Duane Youngblood should have gone to the authorities instead of social media!!Only he and Jakes knows what really transpired between the two of them the night in question. I will say…if someone that I wanted no parts of in that way tried to pull me in to kiss me they would not be comfortable enough to call me the following morning and make any kind of request!…let alone the three things Jakes allegedly requested.”
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