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A flashy Brooklyn preacher who was robbed of greater than $1 million in jewellery throughout a livestreamed sermon final July has filed a lawsuit towards radio character Miss Jones, accusing her of tarnishing his fame on the air in September, based on courtroom paperwork first obtained by The Each day Beast.
Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, 44, is asking for $50 million from Jones, whose full identify is Tarsha Nicole Jones, and her employers, Paramount International and WXBK/94.7 The Block, alleging that the commentator defamed and slandered him throughout her morning present.
Particularly, Whitehead—who has ties to New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, drives a Rolls-Royce, and was lately arrested for allegedly grabbing a girl by the neck mid-service—says within the swimsuit that Jones’ statements on Sept. 13 that he “is a ‘drug vendor,’” is “utilizing the church to cover that outdated drug cash,” that he “assaulted the younger woman,” and that “[his] church is the place he’s in all probability nonetheless doing his soiled work,” are “false.”
“Miss Jones’ above-listed statements straight regarding Bishop Whitehead are false,” the submitting states, including that the on-air feedback “uncovered [Whitehead] to public contempt, ridicule, aversion, and shame.”
“Miss Jones’ statements suggest prison exercise and injured Plaintiff’s fame as a pastor,” the swimsuit continues. “Miss Jones’ statements have been revealed on-air and heard by 1000's or hundreds of thousands of individuals. Miss Jones’ statements have been made in a grossly irresponsible method with out regard for fact. On account of Miss Jones’ acts, Plaintiff misplaced enterprise offers, church members, and earnings.”
Jones doesn't have a lawyer listed in courtroom data and was unable to be reached for touch upon Wednesday. Brian Ponder, Whitehead’s lawyer, didn't instantly reply to a request for remark.
This isn't the primary time that Whitehead, a onetime mortgage dealer who served time in jail for identification theft, has gone after entertainers who questioned how he might afford his high-flying way of life.
In September, Whitehead filed a pair of separate $20 million lawsuits towards two YouTubers, claiming that their feedback about him have been defamatory and slanderous.
The complaints have been much like the brand new one filed towards Miss Jones, with Whitehead accusing Demario Q. Jives and Larry Reid of calling him a con artist.
Jives claimed in a video a month earlier that Whitehead continued to put on “the identical jewellery that [he] obtained robbed in,” mentioned he engaged in “drug dealing,” and was concerned with “the Bloods and the Crypts [sic],” based on courtroom papers cited by the New York Put up.
“I’m a commentator,” Jives informed the outlet. “I give commentary on faith, politics, public figures, every part. … We make numerous jokes, particularly about this explicit scenario, as a result of this man actually is a joke. So for him to attempt to even file one thing is egregious.”
Final month, Whitehead sued Rolls-Royce Motor Vehicles Monetary Companies when the lender dinged his credit score rating over a late cost on his $300,000 automobile. He claimed his month-to-month funds have been up-to-date, and was “shocked and dismayed to see that his credit score rating dropped ~70 factors in consequence” of the supposed error.
In 2021, a parishioner of Whitehead’s accused him of duping her out of her life financial savings. That very same yr, he was sued by a New Jersey actual property developer over greater than $330,000 in unpaid payments. Earlier this month, the Put up described Whitehead as a “slumlord” for reportedly attempting to evict 11 low-income tenants from 4 properties he owns in Connecticut.