Gospel singer and preacher Deitrick Haddon is the latest to weigh in on the viral video of Pastor Keion Henderson silencing a woman during worship service.
The “Love Him Like I Do” singer urged Henderson to reflect on the disrespectful nature of the action after watching Henderson singing and speaking in tongues in a clip from May 5. During praise and worship, a female choir member at the back of the pulpit began yelling before Henderson approached and quickly stopped her, which Haddon felt was inappropriate.
Haddon noted that his own father, Bishop Clarence B. Haddon Sr. of Detroit’s High Praise Cathedral, would never have hushed and snapped at a woman during service, let alone embarrass her before the church and now in front of the world, and doubling down on why he hushed the woman.
“This is a four-year battle, right. This is ongoing,” he said on the “Tamron Hall” show last week. “So I’ve already talked to her personally; I’d already had ushers go up to her; I’ve already had prayer warriors; I’ve had everything, so she did it publicly after being asked not to.”
In a candid interview with Larry Reid on his podcast, “Larry Reid Live,” Haddon further emphasized the importance of considering that the member might have been experiencing mental illness or simply needed to audibly release her frustration after a challenging week.
“If somebody can’t holler in church, man, where can they holler?” he rhetorically asked during the discussion.
pastor keion henderson shh someone for praises God too loud pic.twitter.com/OvAxcC4Uow
— Black AF News (@blackafnews) May 5, 2024
The “He’s Able” chart-topper and six-time Stellar Award winner said while he could never tell a pastor how to “run his house,” he believed that the act and the discussion of the act later was insensitive to the congregant.
“I am concerned about the lady,” he said in the clip. “As a shepherd, your responsibility is to cover the sheep.”
He continued, “She’s embarrassed. She’s humiliated. The ridicule that’s coming her way, we got to think about her because she didn’t know that would happen to her.”
Haddon then referenced a statement that Henderson made on the “Tamron Hall” show, noting that he had known her as a member for some time.
“If you [say] she’s been there for four years, you, as a shepherd, you know that she has that issue,” Haddon said reiterating that there were better ways to handling that and adding that he means no disrespect in his public critique.
However, when prioritizing the preacher’s feelings and that of the woman’s, he said, “I’m more concerned about the parishioner,” Haddon proclaimed. “The lady … She’s plastered everywhere. She didn’t know that [would] happened by her praise. … Lot of people are going through mental issues and they use spirituality to cover up for it. They come to church for peace of mind.”
The former cast member of “Preachers of L.A.” also centered his remarks personally.
He said, “My daddy would never in a million years tell somebody to hush. … Think about it if somebody told my mother, there would be a problem and service is over. They better just come get me.”
Haddon said he hopes Henderson develops the “wisdom” to learn from this mistake, but he adds, “You can’t do that bro.”
Reid posted the clip of the interview on his Instagram profile, and many of his 153K followers chimed in on Henderson’s action and Haddon’s commentary.
A follower also echoed Haddon’s remarks and said, “Tell my mother to hush .. I’m coming too sir.”
“Exactly, and he went on a whole talk show talking ill of that lady,” one more person said in agreement.
Another person also agreed, writing, “I was losing faith! Whew, so glad Pastor Deitrick and Candice Benbow get it….haven’t seen many more with that perspective.”
A fourth comment said, “Church hurt can scar you for life. I hope she received an apology.”
Some of the comments aligned with Henderson’s actions, saying he did the right thing.
“This answer is just filled with wisdom. Y’all keep screaming but he was able to shut her down so that praise wasn’t real,” a person said, adding, “Listen if I am praising and you snap at me and tell me to hush, it’s going to startle me and I am going to immediately be taking back. Not because my praise was fake but because I’m trying to figure out who tf you talking to.”
Henderson’s hushing of the one woman was not the only time he went viral for seeming to hinder the spirit to finish his statement or direction of the service. In a recent clip, he asked the choir and the musicians to “hold” their praise until he finished.
“Let me, uh … no. We’re not gonna do that. Wait,” he said to the singers.
They ignored him, seemingly consumed by praise. The pastor did not see it that way.
“There is a spirit of disobedience in this church. I’m asking you to just wait a minute,” he said.
No matter what he said, no one would stop, at point erupting in full shouts and holy dances.
Eventually, he joined in with praise and worshipers and began singing along with them, resolving that he could not stop the spirit.
