Days after Bishop T.D. Jakes had a medical emergency during his Sunday service at his Potter’s House Church, his team has filed a defamation lawsuit against another pastor who alleged that he was groomed and sexually assaulted by the “Woman Thou Art Loose” founder.
Despite living in Texas for decades, lawyers for Jakes filed the suit in Pennsylvania federal court against Duane Youngblood, a Keystone State pastor. Youngblood alleges that while being mentored by Jakes when he was 18 or 19, the popular preacher hugged and “tried to kiss” him.
Youngblood, 57, went public with his story about Jakes in October 2024 on the “Larry Reid Live” show titled “The Abused Become the Abuser.”
First, he talked about getting out of prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old male in 2002 (being arrested in 2006) and later convicted of “corrupting a minor” after having illicit conversations with a 17-year-old. Now, Youngblood told the host, he desires to be an advocate for those who have been afflicted.
He also talked on the episode about being sexually assaulted off and on from the age of 12 to 18 years old by various church leaders and musicians, including Jakes, and Bishop Quandra Wilson, and Bishop Sherman Watkins of Ohio.
He claimed that Jakes, on one occasion, invited him to where he was staying “to talk.” After they talked and he was getting ready to leave, Jakes allegedly blocked him from walking out the door.
“He walked around toward the way I had to exit quicker than I got over there, and when I started to walk past him he pulled me to himself, wrapped his arms around me, and tried to kiss me” Youngblood said. “And in that moment I literally died.”
The next morning, the then-19-year-old Youngblood allegedly received a phone call from Jake, who was taking a bath while talking to him.
“I get on that telephone,” Youngblood remembers. “I can hear water. He is sitting in a bathtub… he says to me without any hesitation, ‘There’s three things I need you to do: The first one is when I come to Pittsburgh, you’re going to be the only person I sleep with. The second one is you can’t sleep with anybody else because I don’t want to give my wife anything… and thirdly I will take care of you the rest of your life.’”
Youngblood allegedly sent a threat on Nov. 15 to attorney Tyrone Blackburn, the same lawyer representing Lil Rod in his civil case against Sean “Diddy” Combs that also names Jakes, claiming he was going to sue Jakes for sexual assault and harassment. He allegedly demanded a $6 million settlement “in order to resolve this matter quickly and privately.”
Jakes, though still recovering from the Sunday medical emergency where he seemed to have a stroke while preaching, responded to the explosive allegations with his own lawsuit.
“This lawsuit is intended to bring that scheme to a halt to end the extremely emotional, physical, and spiritual toll Defendants’ conduct has caused Bishop Jakes, to set the record straight so the world understands the patent falsity of the accusations, and to restore Bishop Jakes’s reputation,” Jakes team said in the federal filing, according to the New York Post.
The filing goes on to say, “Bishop Jakes believes with all his heart that actual victims of sexual abuse should be treated with the utmost respect, kindness, empathy, and sympathy — and that true perpetrators of such abuse should be held accountable for their actions.”
“But that is not the case here,” the defamation suit states. “Youngblood has used and abused the might of social media and the legal process to … make knowingly false accusations for his own personal and financial gain.”
Several media outlets posted the story on its social media. When Get Up Erica posted, many of her followers weighed in.
“Rebuke these allegations in the name of Jesus!!!! Folks gonna learn to keep their mouth off of God’s people -pulpit or pews-we belong to Almighty God,” one person wrote..
Someone else wrote, “Shut it down before it even starts Bishop!” as another commented, “Good! People need to start being held accountable for making accusations against people if it isn’t true!”
A fourth person was not quick to side with Jakes, writing, “Behind every lie is some form of truth I like Jake’s but I will never think a person isn’t capable I pray the accusations aren’t true but won’t be surprised if they are. You can’t put anything past anyone these days.”
Larry Reid also posted on his social media and his followers also chimed in on the scandal.
“Well look like Katt Williams was right everything is being expose in 2024,” one person wrote.
Another asked, “How he file a lawsuit if he’s sick and under medical care?? And I’m confused did he have a heart attack or a stroke?”
A third person said, “@larryreidlive 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.”
Reid, who is also mentioned in Jakes’ complaint, has taken to social media and claimed that one of Jakes’ “fixers” asked him how much to keep quiet about the things he knows about the pastor’s alleged rendezvous with other men and he said, “there ain’t no money that you can give me.”
Larry Reid says TJ Jakes tried to pay him to keep quiet.
— The Gworls Are Fighting (@baddietvv) November 26, 2024
Jakes, 67, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Duane Youngblood, a fellow pastor who claimed Jakes tried to Sa him when he was 18 or 19 years old.
Credit Conscioutv pic.twitter.com/JQod4OcX5D
On Nov. 27, Jakes posted an update for concerned fans following his health scare.
“I’m grateful for y’all, all the people who prayed, all the people who texted, all the people who had prayer vigils,” the bishop said from a wheelchair outside of the hospital. In his emotional thank you to supporters, Jakes clarified that he did not have a stroke, but his incident was near-fatal.
While Jakes continues to recuperate after his ordeal in the pulpit, the lawsuit exposed some things about the younger preacher, who he believes defamed him.
The suit states Youngblood is currently a registered sex offender in the state of Pennsylvania and is also on parole. In addition to admitting that he had sexual relations with at least two underaged boys, he is also the new author of a book titled, “Freedom from Homosexuality: No Longer Living the Lie.”
Youngblood has not immediately replied to the defamation lawsuit, but with Blackburn as his lawyer, there will be another move soon.
