This is the third in our weekly series, appearing each Wednesday, detailing the transgressions of those who have preached so virulently against the LGBTQ community.
The Facts:
- Born March 30, 1934
- Is the co-founder, chairman and president of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)
- Allegedly forced a male employee, Enoch Lonnie Ford, into having homosexual acts
- Paid $425,000 to Enoch to keep quiet
- Was sued for plagiarism, but settled out of court
The Culprit:
- This weeks Evangelical Hypocrite is: Paul Crouch
The Story:
In 2004 a story leaked. This story had been quiet for since 1998 when the actual event happened. Paul Crouch was being accused of forcing an employee, Enoch Lonnie Ford, into having sexual relations with him. The punishment for not performing such acts with Crouch was the termination of Ford’s job. So not only was this hypocrisy against his teachings with the church but it was also sexual harassment.
Ford had been threatening to go public but in 2004 TBN paid him $425,000 in a settlement. The network settled because they wanted to avoid a long and strenuous lawsuit that would most likely end in mud-slinging. Ford, has now written a manuscript which he was going to get published unless Crouch, or TBN, paid him $10 million for the manuscript for the purpose of making into a motion picture. Crouch denied the offer as extortion.
Ford eventually had to pay Crouch $136,000 for violating terms and settlements.
My question is what happened to the manuscript? It would certainly be something of interest to read. So many times it is hard to form opinions when the only opinion you are getting is coming from the very people who want to shut you up. On the other hand, that often makes it sometimes easier to form an opinion.
The Power of Prophecy says:
“In the unpublished manuscript, Ford alleges that Paul Crouch not only had gay sex with him, but forced him to submit to sex to keep his job. Ford also says he and Crouch visited an L.A. area nightclub together and spent two nights at the fancy and luxurious Regent Wilshire Hotel in ritzy Beverly Hills, California. According to Ford they also had sex together at a cabin at a Lake Arrowhead resort owned by TBN.”