Messages of support continue to pour to Bishop T.D. Jakes, who suffered a medical emergency during his Sunday sermon at The Potter’s House in Dallas on November 24. In a widely circulated video that Jakes stops speaking, lowers his microphone, leans backward as if about to faint and begins to tremble, before he is surrounded by those rendering assistance. The church, on Instagram, assured the public of his stable condition under medical care, while expressing gratitude for the community’s support. In a social media post, daughter Sarah Jakes-Roberts and her husband, Paster Toure´ Roberts shared that Bishop Jakes was recovering well and emphasized the importance of cherishing loved ones.
“He’s the strong Bishop that we know,” she said. “I’m so grateful that he’s already beginning to improve, and I think it’s just a reminder even going into this holiday season week to love on the people who you hold near and dear and just take the time to be grateful for all the people God’s given you.”
Just one day after the incident, lawyers for Jakes filed a defamation lawsuit against a man accusing the Dallas mega pastor of attempted sexual assault. An attorney, representing the man— who is reportedly on parole and had previously pled guilty to sexually assaulting two teenage boys—is alleged to have demanded $6 million from Jakes in order to resolve the matter or be sued for sexual assault.
Attorneys for Jakes said that their lawsuit was intended to “bring that scheme to a halt; end the extreme emotional, physical, and spiritual toll defendants’ conduct has caused Bishop Jakes; to set the record straight so the world understands the patent falsity of the accusations, and to restore Bishop Jakes’s reputation.
“Bishop Jakes believes with all his heart that actual victims of sexual abuse should be treated with the utmost respect, kindness, empathy, and sympathy — and that true perpetrators of such abuse should be held accountable for their actions,” Jakes’ attorneys said in the filing. “But that is not the case here. Youngblood has used and abused the might of social media and the legal process to … make knowingly false accusations for his own personal and financial gain.”