CNN has more on homobigot pastor Eddie Long’s alleged secret same-sex predatory behavior. Long has not returned CNN’s calls regarding this third suit; he plans to hold a news conference tomorrow. And you won’t be surprised that his church is still behind him.
Another civil suit has been filed against Atlanta-based megachurch pastor Eddie Long, alleging coercion, negligence and fraud that involved a sexual relationship with a third young male, CNN has learned.Through a spokesman, Long on Tuesday denied similar allegations in two other lawsuits by two men.
Long will hold a news conference Thursday morning, spokesman Art Franklin said.
Allegations that Long coerced two young male church members and employees into sex are “a case of retaliation and a shakedown for money by men with some serious credibility issues,” the pastor’s spokesman told CNN on Wednesday.
Pastor Eddie Long “categorically and adamantly denies these allegations,” spokesman Art Franklin said. “There’s been a lot of chatter since yesterday, but these complaints that have been filed are definitely without merit.”
…On the reaction from Long’s congregation, Franklin said, “Last night, it was a very spirit-filled worship service from a church family that loves its spiritual leader very much.” He said Long is drawing strength from his family, the New Birth family and other supporters.
“Before rushing to any judgment on Bishop Long and this court of public opinion taking place right now, I really do hope you will look at these guys that are throwing the mud and consider the source,” he said.
Asked how she can prove that sexual contact took place, Bernstein said, “I am ready to put them under oath. Bishop Long can spend money on the best attorneys in this world, and they can question those young men, and then I’ll get to question the bishop, and then we’ll really see what’s going on.” She said she will subpoena records of an “excessive number of phone calls” between Long and the young men, along with e-mails, credit card receipts and other items. Bernstein said she had alerted federal authorities about the situation
.
Long frequently denounces homosexual behavior. A 2007 article in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s magazine called him “one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement.”
UPDATE: This howler on ABCNews…
One of those photos viewed by ABC News depicts Long posing in what appears to be a bathroom stall in a red muscle shirt. The photo was sent via e-mail in November 2008 and is signed, “Eddie L Long, Amazed by His Grace.”“What pastor in his right mind sends a picture from himself, posing in his bathroom in a muscle shirt?” Bernstein said. “None that I know of. Especially one who is a committed homophobe.”




18 Comments


Anyone think he’ll invite Donnie McClurkin to be a character witness for him?
hahahahaha…McClurkinBattle of the Queens!
Seriously, this story could upend Hotlanta’s large closeted and semi-closeted black community. Just the fact that Tyler Perry came up in the earlier story is enough to make you want to pop the popcorn. How about Tyler testifying about his friendship with Long and what kind of parties he threw at his mansion?
Finally.A reference to the “religiously based anti-gay movement.”
Also, what does CNN’s Roland Martin have to sayWhat, if anything, has CNN’s Roland Martin said about the mounting gay sex predator lawsuits?
Clearly Eddie Long is something that Tyler Perry thought up.
love?Watch closely when he chants “love, love, love”–he looks and sounds so very angry.
This is the true core of these Christianists’ thinking: they talk of love but they exude hatred. Their eyes, their voices, their faces don’t lie, though their words do.
All I can say about D. McClurkin is that I will be heterosexually married before him. And I don’t intend to be heterosexually married.
O M G!
I missed the Perry connection.
Not a fan, but I am looking forward to the release of the film version of for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf…hoping he didn’t f it up. At least it has an exceptional cast.
Have you ever seen a production, Pam?
Saw it in ’77 or ’78 in DC with author Ntozake Shange in the audience…and it was NUCLEAR hot! [Physical altercations broke out during a post performance discussion in Chicago because some men in the audience thought it demeaned them.]
Yeah, Lev…I know!I’ve mentioned this before, but when I was 13 I went to what I call a Nazi Baptist school. Girls had to wear dresses, boys had to wear a dress shirt and tie to school-the whole nine yards. They were SO paranoid about girls wearing pants that they had the girls wear coulottes for PE.
I said all that to say this-my eighth grade teacher, Mr. Eikenberry, was one of the coldest, most angry people I ever met in my life. His “christian walk” had NO joy or compassion in it. Just fear and hatred. I was stuck in the church until about 22 years old, mainly because that was what I was raised with. I finally broke free from that slavery (and that’s exactly what being a “christ follower” is-slavery) when I came out after I got sober.
People like Mr. Long (he sure doesn’t deserve the title Reverend)don’t have joy. They are fear-based and hate-filled. That’s the ‘fruits’ of “christianity”.
Is Harry Jackson Next?How much longer will it be until bishop Harry Jackson gets his come-uppance?
The kook is WAAAY too interested in homosex to be straight, and he’s evil enough of a person to be a pedophile too.
Donnie McClurkin too.
Ted Haggard injects himselfTed Haggard has now stepped forward to defend Eddie Long: http://3.ly/BD7X
This incident once again shines a light on ‘The Down Low’The ‘down low’ lifestyle is an absolutely huge thing in the African-American church community. Someone needs to speak out about it. Roland Martin has been very homophobic in the past. I would love to hear his analysis too.
And in further news:John Dillinger stepped forward to defend Al Capone.
Mobutu Sese Seko stepped forward to defend Idi Amin.
Ronald Reagan stepped forward to defend Joseph Stalin.
And Dick Cheney stepped forward to defend Pol Pot.
I could go on all night…
Is the DL a black pastor thing, too?I think we need to start a national campaign with the MANY examples we have of those who scream the loudest against gayness, are actually closeted gay men themselves.
The women don’t do this, do they?
me thinksPastor doth protest too much. Love the muscle shirt pics in the bathroom, just the behaviors of a [insert sarcasm here] well adjusted straight man.
A shallow but profound sidenote…Now that Bishop Long’s lycra shirt photo is on many gay blogs, I am barely seeing the type of racism that usually gets attached to commentary on a subject like this…
Instead I’m seeing quite a few comments about how hot Bishop Long is.
Kinda confirms a POV of mine that, yes, racism is a bigtime issue in the community, some of it is more precisely lookism.
If Bishop Long wasn’t…well, as cute as he appears in the photo; if he was ugly, I suspect that we would see more racist comments.
I AgreeIf he was rail-thin or overweight, there would be less people salivating over him. As far as I care, you can be as muscular or fine as you want – but all that self-loathing, and worse, kiddie-fucking makes a person totally repulsive.
Unfortunately there’s tons of gay men out there tripping over each other to give him a free pass.
No, I don’t think that gay men are giving him a free passI do think that because Long is relatively easy on the eyes in those iPhone photos, you’re not seeing anywhere near the vitriol (and a lot of it racist) that would be expected.