The relationship of gospel superstar Kirk Franklin and his wife Tammy will be front and center on a new OWN series Behind Every Man…
According to Billboard magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Network is taking the phrase “behind every great man is a great woman” to the small screen.
The network unveiled a first look at its heartfelt new series Behind Every Man, which spotlights the strong Black women behind famous men and the passions, struggles and sacrifices the’ve made to support the men they love.
The Carlos King, Jonathan Fountain and Courtney Parker-produced series will kick off on Nov. 7, with Usher‘s mom Jonnetta Patton, his first manager. On Nov. 14, Tammy Franklin will discuss her life-story and her support for husband Kirk Franklin on his road to stardom. The following week, Crystal Smith will talk about her life with husband Ne-Yo, and on Nov. 28, Claudinette Jean will show how she supported husband Wyclef Jean. The series wraps up on Dec. 5, DJ Envy’s wife Gia Casey navigates the adversaries during their nearly 20 years together.
Either Pastor John Gray is relentless in his pursuit of “inappropriate relationships” outside his marriage or chicks are relentless in coming after the married man of God. Whether the former or the latter is true, I’m just about sick of hearing about Pastor John Gray and what he done did or didn’t do…
I had heard over the weekend that another woman had accused Pastor Gray of acting like he was single and unsaved, but I wanted to wait until I saw the story on more conventional media platforms before I wrote about it. Since The Christian Post has covered the story, I feel more comfortable about airing out my opinion. Below is an excerpt of the story:
Lawyers for megachurch pastor John Gray said Monday that he is being blackmailed and extorted after the leader of Relentless Church in South Carolina was accused of engaging in another inappropriate relationship.
“There are allegations that there were phone conversations between the two parties, and that’s essentially the extent of the allegations,” attorney Devon Puriefoy of the law firm Truluck Thomasontold Greenville News. “When you take her own words, she says there was no affair, no physical contact, they never met each other, they never saw each other.”
Puriefoy was not immediately available to discuss the situation when contacted for comment by The Christian Post Tuesday.
The latest allegation against Gray came last Friday from a 48-year-old Houston woman who identified herself as “Mary” during an interview with online personality Tasha K, which was broadcast on YouTube. The Houston woman said during her interactions with Gray, she sent him partially nude photos at his requests and he video-chatted with her while revealing his underwear. She claimed that he also met with her in Houston and invited her to visit his home and she declined because she feels he may have wanted to sleep with her.
If the allegations are true, who cheats during a pandemic? Like it’s dangerous to go to the grocery store and folks are actually out here sharing air and God knows what else with people who haven’t promised to love and care for you in sickness and in health! That’s just dangerously dumb.
And then when you look at some of the receipts this Texas woman has provided, I’m just appalled. In one video, Pastor Gray involves his son and asks his son what does he eat every night. When his son replies pizza, he explains that is what happens in a household where no one is cooking. So basically he’s saying his wife is not cooking for him nor their children. He threw his First Lady, his “good thing” under the bus. Ain’t he the one who found her? That’s the word says. Was she cooking when he met her? And what’s wrong with his hands? Clearly, he can drive, make a video and question his son at the same time so he’s ambidextrous. Those are qualifications enough to cook! And if this video is as crazy as it seems, I think Pastor Gray may have an untreated sex and love addiction. The existence of this video is downright reckless as he is a man with a pretty big platform (although it will continue to get smaller even if he is truly this senseless…Remember he used to have a television show..). Did he not think this woman would save the video?
Again, I don’t know if this is true, but all manner of scandals and such keep circulating around Gray. And this was before 2020 in which we’ve all had our share of suffering. But Gray of all people, particularly as the shepherd of a congregation, should know that 2020 is not to be played with – especially when you’ve admitted to similar behavior before…
I guess that’s all I have to say about this. Pastor John Gray, if you’re reading this and the allegations are true, either get help or just do and be better. And if these allegations aren’t true, please watch yourself and your associations because your name stay in some scandals…
With his 9th studio album, Restoration, dropping on August 21st and the follow up to his New York Times bestselling book, I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion, But Found My Faith, releasing on October 13th, Lecrae is giving fans a behind the scenes view of his life in The Road To Restoration, a three-part video narrative posted on his YouTube channel.
“Restoration is taking something broken and making it whole again,” explains Lecrae. “Through restoration we take something that has been stripped of its value and bring back its worth, meaning, and purpose. I want people to journey with me on The Road To Restoration. The journey begins with this three-part video experience, then there’s the album, Set.Live virtual concert, and book! Collectively they’re all pieces of a puzzle and each piece helps you to understand the next. When all the pieces come together, you’ll get the full picture.”
The YouTube video series begins with The Road To Restoration: The Dreamer (Part 1) opening with a 14-year-old Lecrae sharing his dream of growing up to become a rapper, family man, and businessman! The irony of watching the young 8th grader, is not only did he become a rapper, but he would become a multi Grammy Award-winning platinum selling artist who made history as the first artist to debut in the #1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 and Gospel Album Chart in the same week! Now also husband and father of three, Lecrae adds New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, speaker, thought leader, philanthropist, and Co-Owner/President of Reach Records to his achievements.
While on the surface, it appeared that Lecrae was living his dream, secretly his life was spinning out of control. Ready to walk away from everything—his career, marriage, and family – Lecrae decided to finally face the traumas he had experienced, and deal with it, step by step. The Road To Restoration is a window into my journey towards restoration. “It’s easy to think that life gets easier the more successful you get. But, the more successful I became, the more I had to fight for something I couldn’t maintain. It broke me, but it also opened the door for me to be restored.”
The second step of The Road to Restoration: Closing The Gap (Part 2) includes Lecrae meeting his father. “For the first time in my life I got to sit down and talk to my father face to face and I went through so many emotions seeing him but I’m thankful that I finally got to ask him all the questions I never got to ask. It was healing and now he texts me almost every day!”
The Road to Restoration: This Is Not The End (Part 3) shows how Lecrae is restoring his own family and the steps he’s taken to prioritize them. “I used to be a creative who was taking time for the family but now I’m a family man who is fighting to stay creative,” shares Lecrae. “Just being a young black man who was fatherless, lived in a disenfranchised community, I’ve been restored to understanding that my worth, my value is not predicated by where I came from, or what’s happened to me. I’ve been made whole through spiritual restoration, through my faith in God, through therapy and and recognize that I have infinite purpose and worth.”
“Restoration is ongoing… an endless pursuit towards accepting what God has for you and trusting Him to lead you to what’s ahead,” shares Lecrae. “It is the key essential for life. As painful as the things I’ve gone through, as painful as the things you’ve gone through, none of it is beyond restoration.” The Road To Restoration video series also features appearances from: NBA All Star player Steph Curry, former NBA player Jeremy Lin, music industry executive & “Silence The Shame” mental health advocate, Shanti Das, Reach Records artists Tedashii, Grammy-award winning songwriter Natalie Lauren Sims and more.
Please continue on the journey and watch Lecrae’s the three- part video series, The Road To Restoration below and pre-order the album Restoration and book I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion But Found My Faith” today! The album features artists across all genres including John Legend, Kirk Franklin, YK Osiris, Jozzy, Dani Leigh, Marc E. Bassy, BJ The Chicago Kid and more. The first single Set Me Free, features YK Osiris (produced by GAWVI) and was followed up by Deep End, (produced by Anthony Gardner), Drown ft. John Legend (producers Danny Majic, DJ Frank E, and Ace Harris) and Zombie.
Hello World,