By Imani Sheppard // Death // EEW Magazine Online

Many are still reeling from the news that YouTube and Instagram personality, Kevin Samuels, who specialized in giving relationship advice that rubbed some the wrong way, died last Thursday in Atlanta. He was 57.

His straight-no-chaser style of delivery geared toward Black men and women gained him legions of admirers and followers as well as critics and detractors. Among those who seemed drawn to the man that Atlanta police said they found unresponsive on the floor of his apartment, citing no cause of death, were Black Christian women.

But why?

Well, for starters, the self-described image consultant turned social media celebrity who was frequently accused of being misogynistic touted his church upbringing and quoted scripture.

One of Samuels’s favorite Bible verses was Proverbs 18:22: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”

Yet, he told a woman in a February 2021 video posted on YouTube, where he had amassed more than a million followers, “God ain’t got nothing to do with our natural choices in relationships” and claimed that “any preacher”— including ultra-popular megachurch pastor, Bishop T.D. Jakes, would concur.

Samuels, who the New York Times characterizes as a “hypermasculine authority, usually wearing a finely tailored suit” got pushback from the Black Christian woman who was seeking advice on his platform that day.

“God has a lot to do with everything, actually,” she retorted.

“No, he doesn’t,” Samuels shot back, “because if he did, that means he would be responsible for this mess right now. Marriage is a natural choice. Jesus ain’t your husband. You picked the right one. I grew up in the church.”

According to Samuels, who was known for rating women based on appearance, submissiveness, and youth, and men for their dominance and salary, marriage is “not about love” but rather “duty and responsibility.”

Modern women, he said, are “convenient Christians. You want God to do what he does, but you’re not doing what God commanded and ordained for you to do.”

In his view, what a woman should do, that is if she wants to marry a “high-value man,” is be a soft-spoken housewife, dutifully catering to the needs of her husband with no expectation that he would be loving or loyal.

The messages understandably turned many people off, particularly women, who said his views were harmful to the Black community.

On May 2, less than a week before his death, The Root published a piece originally titled, “When Will Kevin Samuels Finally Be Canceled?” It has since been retitled, “Controversy Followed Kevin Samuels.”

Indeed, controversy and people followed him. Whether followers were fans or foes, the masses were drawn to Mr. Samuels like a moth to a flame. Now that his flame has been extinguished, the Black community is left processing the legacy that the controversial, viral sensation abruptly left behind. And we are left wondering, why did he appeal to Black Christian women?

Perhaps, because Black women, statistically, are among the most religious with the lowest marriage rates. Relationship gurus have for decades successfully latched on to their hope for true, lasting love.

Kevin Samuels, who was born on March 13, 1965, is survived by his mother and a daughter. According to his LinkedIn profile, he attended the University of Oklahoma and studied chemical engineering. He began his career in marketing and changed course in 2013, launching his own image consulting firm.

But it wasn’t until Samuels shifted his focus to love and relationships in the Black community that his popularity skyrocketed. The more contentious, abrasive, and debatable his commentary was, the more his brand grew.

In 2020, “The Godfather,” as he sometimes called himself, set the Internet ablaze by telling a woman she was “average at best” and most recently for calling women over 35 “leftovers”—something Samuels said he borrowed from the Chinese Communist Party.

“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.”

Women with children, he frequently said, bring “baggage” and “drama” into relationships and should be honored that any man would even consider marrying them.

Though Samuels grew up in the church, his views were not always in alignment with scripture. Some even claimed he held women to a higher standard than men and overlooked the Bible’s command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

“Successful men cheat,” Samuels recently said on Instagram. “Either you will deal with it or not.”

Unfortunately, Proverbs 5:15 wasn’t in his repertoire of greatest hits: “Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone.”