Earlier this week, Atlanta, Georgia’s Bishop Eddie Long was accused of sexual abuse by two men of his mega-church congregation. According to the lawsuit, two men (Maurice Robinson, 20 and Anthony Flagg, 21) claim that while they were teenagers, Long conducted private spiritual ceremonies and coerced them into sexual acts:
“The pastor took one plaintiff, Anthony Flagg, 21, on overnight trips to a half-dozen American cities in recent years, Flagg’s suit alleges. “Long shared a bedroom and engaged in intimate sexual contact with plaintiff Flagg including kissing, massaging, masturbating of plaintiff Flagg by defendant Long and oral sexual contact,” the suit says.
Long took the other plaintiff, Maurice Murray Robinson, 20, to Auckland, New Zealand, in October 2008 for his 18th birthday and engaged in oral sex with him, Robinson’s suit alleges. “Following the New Zealand Trip, Defendant Long regularly engaged in sexual touching, and other sexual acts with Plaintiff Robinson,” Robinson’s suit alleges.” [ SOURCE ]
The lawyer for Robinson and Flagg, B.J. Bernstein, also claims that she has the photos, texts and e-mails to prove the relationship between her clients and the bishop. Bishop Eddie Long, who is also known for being an advocate against same-sex marriage, adamantly denies the allegations.
WOW is what I said when I saw this last night; but I wasn’t surprised; who can be in todays society.
Not judging just giving my opinion as we all do when discussing food, clothes, music, and tv shows. I always had my reservations about Bishop Long, he just looked like something was not right. I just thought it was him being too flashy, having to be in the spotlight; like when he was on an episode of RHOA. I felt like what he said on that show and him appearing there was a no-no; but as the old folks use to say “he is smellin himself”. BUT I will wait for further facts to come out, like emails, pics, etc. I will say this though, it is mighty “suspect” for a pastor to take young men on trips, be it state to state or out of the country. My old pastor, I say old because I now live in a different state would take many trips but will take his wife, and other grown associate pastors; never anyone so young.
I agree with other posts as to why they waited so long, families look up to pastors and don’t want to think they can do wrong; so I’m sure they were scared….IF the allegations are true.
We have to keep in mind that pastors are men, and men can fall to all types of temptations; we all do everyday. I don’t put my trust in man, I put my trust in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; he will never fail. I pray the truth will be revealed so true healing can begin.
Well, let me not assume this is true. I’ll just wait to see. God help us all.
Reading these comments it’s amazing. Some of you people are in denial and some speak in ignorance (TJACK25). First off I believe these boys 100%
And for the people who say “why did they wait” and “they must be gay”clearly don’t understand the process of a sexual predator. This “Pastor” is simply doing what Gay Catholic priest’s have done for centuries.
Priest also molest and abuse young boys because that is what they like doing and the Church is the perfect place to score young victims. They carefully select people and they use their position to shame them into silence. These boys are poor and don’t have fathers in many cases and they have problems. This “Pastor” even used corporal punishment on boys as young as 13. There is also mind control involved and they were given things to keep their silence and win their trust. Young people can be very impressionable but there are also adults who do these types of things. You don’t blame children who these predators have been working on since they were young. The questions you ask are directed at this “Pastor” who not only abused young boys but used the churches money to fly them across this nation and abroad. He got them gadgets and all types of things to win their loyalty for sexual favors. I also read that he even had a “marriage” ceremony with some boys and that the boys found out about others boys all types of madness. This is what’s wrong when “Pastors” from these mega churches are allowed to live like KINGS. This man was even quoted telling one of his victims that he died for them….implying he was Jesus Christ. He even introduced them to celebs like Tyler Perry and Chris Tucker. This is what happens in some churches and cults. We see homosexuals in church and pretend they are not gay. The same thing with this Predator. Well he’s been exposed and people will still defend him that is a type of mind control. It takes courage for these young men to say something. I’m sure they need a therapy but this is the worst type of abuse. We have to say enough is enough with these Pulpit Pimps. This is NOT a man of GOD!
To all you black folk, my question is: will this situation open up the (appropriate and overdue) dialogue on homosexuality in the black community? Those who believe african-americans are homophobes often state that this belief is based in our reliance on traditional religious values. Although I am NOT a fan of megachurches, I think we should use this as transformative regarding inclusion since black churches are notorious for being exclusionary when it comes to homosexual people. Save the judgment for someone else….
Keith # 61 Thank you for presenting this as a way to have an open discussion about something we all see, we hang around and even are related to but too busy worrying what others will think…now in the Bishop case if he in fact did this then Karma is just around the corner.
@ Keith
Homosexuality has no place in the Church. You don’t open up the Church to people who are living outside of GOD’s LAW. This Sexual Predator has no place being in the church and turning a blind eye to people like this gives them a false sense of power. This “Pastor” has been talked about for years but people did nothing. And now more and more boys are coming out of the wood works. They need to follow the money and call for an accounting because that will tell the tale. Mega Churches have some shady characters who don’t belong there. This man even said crazy things that in retrospect people should have seen and flagged. I hope this scandal helps people to see that they need to clean house not open the door to people who are living outside of the way Christ intended. I’m not saying hate gays but you also can’t condone the sin they are living. That’s like saying support “gay-marriage” that is sheer nonsense. And it’s not just the black community that feels this way.
And we don’t have to wait for “karma”.
We have laws to deal with the “Pastor”.
He should be in jail for both the sexual abuse of minors. And for using church funds to seduce boys into sexual acts.
This man is lower than low.
yea like he was going to say.. yes i was forcing these men to engage in sexual activity with me.. honestly, i don’t care nor am I surprised.
For those questioning why these gentlemen waited so long (if these allegations are true) need to understand that Bishop Long is one of the richest and most powerful Black pastors in the country, the intimidation this can would cause would keep them quiet. Just look at those sexually abused by Catholic priests; some had even waited decades to report it.
Always, always, always…. thought it was something not right about him….especially when he stopped wearing suits and began wearing tight muscle t shirts and vests to preach…*smh*
Knew something wasnt right about dude. How is he going to explain the text messages and other things. People of sexual abuse wait so long because they have mixed feelings and fear of revealing the truth. These guys have the entire congregation and now the world with eyes on them. No one can make that decision over night especially with sexual abuse because there is a stigma and people always doubting the story. They had to have come to the realization that they were victims and nothing to hide because they were coerced at a young age and taken advantage of. The relationship continues because the mixed feelings of sexual gratification because that is what sex is suppose to do in general and knowing it isnt right on the other hand because they were enticed/coerced in the beginning of it all. Did not like Longs response to the Congressional Inquiry. No matter separation of church and state, he should have said look at the books left and right because the tithes is doing God’s work. You have to avoid the appearance of evil with all that bling bling. Nothing wrong with bling if you bought it with your own money and not the tithe or so called “charities” funded by the tithe, that’s God’s money!
God didnt create sex to happen between no one but one man and one woman in a marriage, period. Anything outside of that description is sin. Sex will perform its purpose of pleasure, BONDING, and pregnancy no matter the situation because that’s its function. So why are people always annoyed that some victims still participated for a while when they had the opportunity to get away. It occurred between folk that it should never had occurred with through an act of abuse. Sad, nasty bishop. All these names and titles, what happended to preacher, pastor, deacon, etc. Bishop, high priest, elder, and all that, is that scriptural?
I am appalled at some of these comments! Why is it that when a black man is accused of doing something this cruel,black women are the first ones to defend them! Why do yall always blame the damn victims? Wake the f*ck up and stop being so blind and ignorant to the facts,especially in this situation. A THIRD VICTIM filed a lawsuit today against Bishop Eddie Long’s nasty azz and yes,the attorneys representing these young men have a sh*tload of evidence such as emails,photos,W-2 forms that the pastor put them on the church payroll,hotel reciepts,passports,and much more. So if anybody think that this filthy bastard is innocent,then you are about to be disappointed! Why wait until tomorrow for a press conference instead of yesterday when the sh*t hit the fan. He is guilty as sin and he will have to pay for the lives that he has destroyed. Furthermore,I haven’t heard anybody say that they feel sorry for his wife & children who are suffering the most in this ordeal. They are the ones who should be getting the prayers,not that pedophile of a pastor Eddie Long. This is what happens when you sign over your paycheck to the devil every week. All the folks that made him rich with their tithes should look in the damn mirror if the want someone to blame.
fififj123
SHTFU…”God didnt create sex to happen between no one but one man and one woman in a marriage, period. Anything outside of that description is sin”
First of all, I must say that reading the numerous amounts of homophobic and heterosexist comments is disappointing, yet unsurprising. I have finally realized that most African Americans will never critically engage multiple forms of oppressions that would allow them to put into perspective how personal/group oppression speaks to other forms of oppressions that may center on gender, class, sexuality, disability, etc….I’m truly done romanticizing this idea.
What I do hope we begin to truly consider is how power functions. I have been approached for sex by married preachers, fraternity elders in ranking positions, and individuals in positions of power in the workplace and I’ve never uttered a word about it until today. While I agree with many posters who question the timing of the individuals who have decided to speak about what has allegedly happened between them and Bishop Eddie Long, I must applaud them, nonetheless, for speaking. As Audre Lourde has warned, “your silence will not protect you.” I am obviously not in a position to say unequivocally what has or has not happened, but for some posters to feign shock or shake their heads in sheer disbelief is beyond ridiculous. Of course it is possible that this could have happened.
I refused to say anything when I was being approached for sex because I, even as a young adult person, understood how power operated. I knew from the societal cues that I received from multiple religious, social, academic, and professional locations that it was NOT OKAY for me to speak. I had to choke on my silence in order to help facilitate the power structure; help it breathe when I couldn’t. These young men decided to speak and I applaud them for it.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the age of consent or how the age of consent can somehow exonerate one of these charges. Rather, this has all to do with how one decides to exercise power, especially in the spiritual realm. Sex very much is a part of this realm and burying our heads in the grounds of disbelief does little to alleviate the real sexual lines that are frequently crossed in these situations. This is violence. We must own it.
Artist: Donnie
Song: People Person
Listen…
PPl be careful ofwhat you sy…do ome reseach ifyou dont know, e..c intenet….Listen child molestors come from every social status . black, white, …every background you could think of. Imagine how much child molestors ae living amongst us..remember this has been happening for decades and whoever it has happened to is just repeating it over again its a disease that cannot be cured…may god bless and heal these men who had the courage and strenght to come foward after so many years, just because of shame and guilt…shame on you ppl who have no knowledge of consideration for these victims who have been and who are obviously still suffering from this!!! god bless their soul…
Frankly nothing really shocks me when the most sanctimonious get busted
Look at the other tv preacher Ted Haggard who was also loud about homosexuality
As a sin blah blah blah except oops those times his male escorts came out
And next thing Haggard was on Oprah with his wife no less speaking about his gay affairs
But I’m totally over it and prayed to God,and my wife forgives me and ol girl was sitting up there lookin stupid
Anyway for Bishop Long I figured it women would be his downfall,remember that first season of
Real Housewives of Atlanta when DeShawn was writing him big checks,and trying to get him to volunteer
For her fundraiser dude was eyeballing that girl up and down ,I want to see what evidence those guys lawyer has
@73, you shut it up. Show in the Bible where that is not true!
First people need to stop judging there is two sides to ever story …. it’s funny how the boys lawyer left out one thing one of the boys was arrest this pass June for breaking into Bishop Long office…this could be revenge because Bishop might press charges.
@Kiddo I completely agree with you lol.
@ 52 since when was it a sin for a pastor to have a damn plane! Yall have no problem with these rappers who aint about shit living the high life but the minute a minister becomes rich yall are quick to condemn them straight to hell!! FYI there is nothing wrong with having money. Money is not the root of all evil its the LOVE of money that is. Folks who are materialistic and think everything is about having flashy clothes are cars are in the wrong but there is nothing wrong with having fancy clothes and cars as long as that is not the most important thing in your life. I cant say these allegations are true but I can not say they are false either. At the end of the day everyone is human and as Christians we should simply pray for both Eddie and his accusers. We all have faults and we all have issues. Remember no sin is greater then the other so before you clown on this dude for speaking against gays and actually might end up being gay just know that you sitting here talking about this dude gossiping and so on is just as big of a sin in Gods eyes
79. Fran Boggan, That is an interesting fact about him breaking into the church office. And, I notice that that BJ looks a little suspect herself, if you know what I mean. Also, where was the mother when her son was given a trip to New Zealand for his 18 birthday? Lots of unanswered questions.
Were we already warned of this? Go to youtube and look up Brian Carn “Perversion in the Church.” Blew my mind. We are trully living in our last days.
@ZION HILL
I SPEAK OF IGNORANCE??…. REALLY? NO, I SPEAK FROM COMMON SENSE. YOU ON THE OTHER HAND DON’T…
You stated:
“You don’t open up the Church to people who are living outside of GOD’s LAW”
Well if thats the case then NO ONE should be allowed to enter the church. Because we are all of flesh and we are all sinners! Looks like you speak of ignorance as well buddy.
I heard on the radio yesterday, that Eddie took in one of the boys and said that he would be like a Father figure to him, the one that was 18 at the time, so I figure the mother was probably thrilled that her son was going to a place where he never been before, and especially with someone who was “suppose” to be a friend and someone whom she thought she could trust, but little did she know Eddie took her son and gave him a gift for his birthday, a big jar of Vaseline!
I say put the orange suit on him now and put him in a cell with a big country dude named Bubba!
Yeah sorry but this is old news. I know of several young men know as “Eddie Long’s Boys” that were discreetly meeting with him at odd hours of the evening. One of them that i knew personally was always draped in expensive jewelry, designer clothes and shoes, but working as a part-time grocery store cashier. When asked where else he worked, he would always say “oh i work for the church” (Newbirth). I wonder what the church going folk have to say about their sick pastor now. Some would look at you like you cursed God himself if you ever said anything wrong about their beloved pastor/church… i dont think he will be able to cover this one up…
innocent until proven guilty..lol
we’ll se how this transpires
& what do the streets say? “it’s the ones who are so against something that are into it” hmph i hope this isn’t true..for the sake of the church
I first heard about Bishop Eddie Long back in 2004 when he had given R&B singer Ciara spiritual advice when she graduated from Riverdale High and did that documentary on BET when she became famous. Something does seem a bit off about him with the flashy jewelry, luxury car, mansion, jets, etc. When I listen to his sermons, I’m not moved, I’m confused. He just doesn’t scream out “Pastor” or “Bishop” to me. That’s just how I feel about him.
It’s strange to me how he’s willing to speak on the matter (which was scheduled to be today) and cancels it. I figured that he did that because of those photos that were leaked of him in a bathroom with tight clothing, which was supposedly sent to one of the victims. I found it strange, even though he was fully clothed. I know Pastors has done strange things in the past, but this is a grown man posing in a bathroom with his IPhone. That’s something that young folks do. He’s 57 years old. So that was a bit odd.
Then we have the young men. Maurice Robinson, 20. Anthony Flagg, 21. And Jamal Parris, 23. I kills me when people say “Why did they choose NOW to make the allegations?” Ya’ll clearly don’t understand child molestation & therefore shouldn’t speak on it. Former child actor, Todd Bridges, waited until his adult years to publicly speak out about the sexually abuse he had to face as a child. It’s difficult for a young man to come out & say something like that. They start to question their sexuality. Feel ashamed/embarrassed. Have trouble feeling content with their manhood. Now the predator will try to do and say things to put the young person at ease. In this case “Bishop” Eddie Long allegedly did this by giving them gifts, taking them on trips, and buying them material things. That will keep them quiet for that time being, but their not going to forget it. It’s called sexual grooming, lavishing the young person with gifts hoping that will make things okay. So much evidence shoots towards this man. When Michael Jackson was first accused of molestation, the first thing he did was proclaimed his innocence. He didn’t listen to no lawyers or anything. Why is it taking so long for this man to come out and say something? In his statements all I heard was him “bashing” the men calling them horrible & cruel individuals. What does that have to do with his innocence? I honestly think that he cancelled his interviews and conference because the evidence is starting to surface. He was so eager to speak and as soon as the photos came out it was a whole different story. That’s as far as I’m going with my opinion. I don’t really know what else to think about the situation, but it’s not looking so good for the “Bishop”.
I quote/unquoted Bishop because it’s just hard to believe things. Not all pastors, priests, popes, bishops, practice what they preach. I am a STRONG believer of God and I know my faith is real. I really don’t think I need a man to tell me what I should believe in. Too much scandalous is going on. I’ll sit back & see how this plays out. But…it’s iffy.
OPEN YOUR EYES AND STOP BEING SO BLIND. OF COURSE THEY DIDN’T COME FORWARD RIGHT AWAY. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A RICH, POWERFUL MAN. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WORSHIP THIS MAN LIKE HE IS GOD ALMIGHTY? PEOPLE BRAG ABOUT ATTENDING THIS CHURCH AND WEAR IT LIKE A BADGE OF HONOR. WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG AND STILL TRYING TO FIND YOURSELF THEN YOU HAVE THIS RICH POWERFUL MAN IN YOUR LIFE GIVING YOU LOVE AND AFFECTION LIKE A FATHER FIGURE THEN BUYING YOU GIFTS AND TAKING YOU ON TRIPS HE IS SLOWLY SEDUCING YOU INTO THE NEXT PHASE. YOU FEEL ALMOST OBLIGATED TO DO WHATEVER HE SAYS. NOT TO MENTION AFRAID OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T DO WHAT HE SAYS. EVEN OPRAH TALKS ABOUT THE SEDUCTION OF THESE PREDATORS. THESE YOUNG MEN MAY HAVE EVEN BEEN UNSURE OF THEIR OWN SEXUAL IDENTITY. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY PARTICIPATED WILLINGLY IT IS STILL WRONG BECAUSE OF BISHOP LONG’S POSITION OF POWER AND THE USING OF CHURCH FUNDS. ALSO IF ONE PERSON COMES FORWARD AND BREAKS THE SILENCE IT MAKES IT MUCH EASIER FOR OTHERS TO COME FORWARD AFTER THAT. SO FAR THERE ARE 3 ACCUSERS. I HAVE A STRONG FEELING MORE WILL COME FORWARD. THE NEXT TIME YOU WONDER WHY DID THEY WAIT TO COME FORWARD JUST TAKE A LOOK AT COMMENTS LIKE THE ONES HERE. PEOPLE ARE ALREADY BLAMING THE VICTIMS, QUESTIONING THEIR REASON FOR DOING IT, BRINGING UP OTHER IRRELEVANT THINGS ( ONE OF THE GUYS TRIED TO BREAK INTO THE CHURCH OFFICE)…WHAT DOES THAT MATTER? MAYBE HE WAS TRYING TO FIND EVIDENCE TO PROVE HIS ALLEGATIONS. BISHOP LONG IS JUST A MAN. PEOPLE SEEM TO FORGET THAT.
I love you brother! I agree. He’s just a man. And Christians need to stop crying about how we (Christians) look because of what this so-called man of God did. We are not of the world and the Word says that the world hates us. What do you expect? If we stop trying to please men and please God, we won’t care what the “world” thinks now would we?
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Always knew Bishop eddie long was a fugget, shame on him for embarrasing his wife..so annoying how pipo misuse God’s name all in vain..I hope justice is done for molesting these innocent teenage boys..ANNOYING
i AM NOT GONNA JUDGE ANY ONLY BECAUSE THE WORD SAYS NOT TO JUDGE. THE TRUTH WILL COME TO THE LIGHT. IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE THAT OUR PEOPLE STILL LACK KNOWLEDGE AFTER ALL WE HAVE BEEN THROW. GOD IS A GOOD GOD AND HE LOVES EVEN WHEN WE MESS UP IF IT WAS NOT TRUE A LOT OF US WOULD NOT BE HERE. PRAY FOR THEM ALL BECAUSE THEY WILL NEED IT
wow, idk if if its true or not, but i think we should all wait to see what happens before we start pointing fingers. Whether its true or not, i feel for his congregation, to not know if your leader of your church is a hypocrite or not. Alot of peolpe’s faith has been shaken because of this whole situation, and thats y people shouldnt put there faith in man. …….so now even more people are gonna be church hurt and walking around saying all church folks are hypocrites. …….hmmm sigghh
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