Oops! Pastor Jamal Bryant slammed Kevin Samuels, then apologized after receiving backlash
By Imani Sheppard // Controversy // EEW Magazine Online
Pastor Jamal Bryant slammed deceased relationship coach, Kevin Samuels, from the pulpit during a Mother’s Day sermon at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia.
The backlash was swift and brutal, as many criticized the preacher’s choice to lambast the polarizing figure, also his Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brother, while failing to honor his grieving family.
Bryant, 50, who presides over the megachurch, took issue with the controversial image consultant’s comments about Black women over 35 and made a point to express his disdain.
Kevin Samuels died suddenly at the age of 57 on Thursday, May 5, 2022.
“How can a man say that you are of low value after 35?” asked Bryant, a community activist, referencing Samuels’ own words without ever speaking his name.
Samuels, “The Godfather,” as he sometimes called himself, set the Internet ablaze by calling women over 35 “leftovers.”
“If you have made it to 35 and you are unmarried, you are a leftover woman,” he said. “You are what is left. Men know that there is something likely wrong with you. Whether you want to hear it or not, I’m going to go there with you. I’m telling you the truth that you don’t want to hear.”
“How can a man say that you don’t have the level of traction of a high-powered man, when that man has to get a GoFundMe for his funeral?” Bryant remarked, drawing a huge response from churchgoers with some laughing and showing shock on their faces.
At the time of insulting Samuels, Bryant was under the impression that the person who self-identified as Melanie King, a friend, and had created a GoFundMe to assist with funeral costs, was legitimate and authentic.
He was wrong.
According to Black Enterprise, the truth emerged, revealing Melanie King to be a “scammer.” The family of Samuels, who was reportedly worth $4 million, said they had never heard of this woman.
The unauthorized fundraising campaign has since been removed.
In Bryant’s apology, he said, “I don’t care whether you are a pastor, a bishop, or a postman, when you are wrong, you have to own when you are wrong. And so, not in a quiet place but from the same pulpit in which I said it, I wanted to address it. Everybody wants to be an adult until it’s time to apologize. I am a full-grown adult, and I take full accountability of everything that I say and everything that I do.”
The World War Me author confessed that he had spread “incorrect” information, though he did not specifically outline what he had gotten wrong.
“Last week, while we were in worship, I made a reference to now deceased public critic and public intellectual about relationships, Brother Samuels. As a consequence, later information came forth that what it is that I said was incorrect. This place is a place of truth. Everything that I say, from this place, must be a place of truth, as it represents the gospel of God,” Bryant said.
He continued, “So, I wanted to take a moment and apologize to the Samuels family. I wanted to apologize to the larger community. I wanted to apologize to my noble brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Inc.”
The minister, whose Kevin Samuels commentary opened a can of worms, was heavily scrutinized and criticized for his own past infidelities and indiscretions pertaining to women. Instead of shying away from the controversy, Bryant acknowledged the critiques of those who took him to task and thanked them for making him “better.”
“This week, I got a whole lot of people that want to help me be accountable, and I want to thank them for helping me to be a better person. I’m so thankful that God ain’t finished with me yet. I don’t do everything that I’m supposed to do, how I’m supposed to do it, but repentance means there is a change of behavior. So, as a consequence, I want to say to you, watch me grow. Watch me do better, and watch me represent the Body of Christ at a much higher level than what I have done before,” he said.
Bryant, a divorced father of three daughters, whose marriage ended due to his adulterous affair, concluded by saying, if anyone felt “let down,” “dishonored,” or “disrespected,” that was “never my intention. My intention every time I stand is for God to be glorified and for the people to be equipped.”
News of Samuels’ death in Atlanta went viral on social media. Police said they found him unresponsive on the floor of his apartment, citing no cause of death, though Samuels had reportedly complained of chest pain earlier.
Despite gaining a fair number of enemies, Samuels had legions of fans. Before his sudden death, he had amassed millions of followers online.
