By Joy Ashford
https://www.dallasnews.com/
T.D. Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter’s House in southern Dallas, has been named in a recent lawsuit against music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs as someone who might help rehabilitate Combs’ public image.
Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided by federal agents Monday as part of a sex trafficking investigation, reports say. Over the past year, Combs has been the subject of several lawsuits that have accused him of sexual assault and sex trafficking.
In February 2024, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a federal suit in the southern district of New York that accused Combs and several of his associates of participating in a “sex-trafficking venture.”
Jakes is mentioned once in Jones’ 73-page suit, which states that Jones has “irrefutable evidence” of “Mr. Combs detailing how he planned to leverage his relationship with Bishop T.D. Jakes to soften the impact on his public image of Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit.”
Ventura, Combs’ former girlfriend, filed a suit in November 2023 that said Combs had put her through a “cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking.” Three more women later filed sexual assault suits against Combs last year.
When reached by The Dallas Morning News onTuesday, a representative for T.D. Jakes declined to comment on the lawsuit in which Jakes is named.
Jakes is one of many celebrities named in Jones’ lawsuit, including Prince Harry, actor Cuba Gooding Jr. and rapper Yung Miami.
In December 2023,Jakes was accused of participating in sex parties hosted by Combs in unverified reports on social media. Jakes appeared to respond to the reports in a Christmas Eve service at The Potter’s House.
“The worst that could happen, if everything was true, all I got to do is repent sincerely, from my heart. There’s enough power in the blood to cover all kinds of sin. I don’t care what it is, the blood would fix it,” Jakes said. “But I ain’t got to repent about this.”
When reached for comment about those reports, Jordan Hora, director of communications for The Potter’s House and T.D. Jakes Ministries, told The Christian Postthat “recent claims circulating on pockets of social media about Bishop T.D. Jakes are unequivocally false and baseless.”
In November 2022, Jakes attended Combs’ 53rd birthday party, a representative for Jakes confirmed to The Christian Post, and video of him at the party was criticized on social media.
Derrick Williams, executive vice president of entertainment at T.D. Jakes Enterprises, told The Christian Post in December 2023 that he attended Combs’ birthday party with Jakes. “We both greeted the family, Bishop Jakes recorded a brief celebratory birthday video and left immediately to take our other scheduled meetings. Any accusation to the contrary is wholly unsubstantiated, unverified, and false.”
In 2021, Jakes partnered with Revolt Media, a cable TV network co-founded by Combs, for an ongoing sermon series called “Kingdom Culture with T.D. Jakes.” Combs stepped down as chair of Revolt Media in November 2023 and reportedly sold his stake in the company this week.
Jakes founded The Potter’s House in 1996 and it had 30,000 members as of 2021. He also leads global humanitarian efforts through the church.
Joy Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
