BeBe Winans on why he didn’t refute decade-old domestic violence accusations

Aug 27

Article By Bernadine Shepherd // EEW Magazine // Domestic Violence

A decade ago, when Debra Winans, ex-wife of GRAMMY® Award-winning gospel singer, BeBe Winans, accused him of domestic violence, he did not publicly refute her claim—but why?

In a new interview with TV One’s “The DL Hughley Show,” the singer shed light on why he was silent about the accusation that threatened to end his career.

“There was a promise I made to my children, and that was, I’m not going to say anything bad about your mother, at all—never going to,” said the 56-year-old during his in-studio chat with D.L. Hughley and co-host, Jasmine Sanders.

According to Winans, friends and media urged him to speak out, but he insisted, “I can’t, because I made a promise to my children.”

The public, however, had no knowledge of such a promise. Therefore, when Winans’ ex alleged that he shoved her to the ground in front of their two kids, then aged 10 and 13, during a verbal altercation over custody issues, many presumed his silence affirmed his guilt.

But a Nashville judge later dismissed the misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

“It’s not bad to tell someone something as a point of fact,” Hughley told Winans. “You were adjudicated. This is what happened.”

In an attempt to further explain his choice to keep quiet, Winans borrowed lyrics from a traditional, well-known gospel song often sung in the black church: “Victory, victory shall be mine. If I hold my peace and let the Lord fight my battles, then victory shall be mine.”

The song is based on Exodus 14:14, which says, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

The brother of multiple GRAMMY® Award-songstress, CeCe Winans, went on to say, “We don’t want to hold our peace, especially when things are being said about us that aren’t truth.”

During the time he remained mum, Winans, who had made multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, was banned from the overwhelmingly popular daytime talker until his domestic violence charges were resolved.

Yet, he maintains that, despite the heightened scrutiny and amplified criticism that resulted from his failure to make a formal statement denying any wrongdoing, it was all worth it in the end.

Winans told Hughley awaiting vindication brought a big payoff in the court room. He said, “The judge looked at the court reporter and said, ‘Put in the records that this woman is a liar,’ so I didn’t even have to say it.”