Posts Tagged ‘Jamal Parris’

No surprise here…Bishop Eddie Long is seeking to get some of his original settlement money back due to 3 of the men speaking publicly to the media.  Besides, we all know Eddie needs the money.

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Attorneys representing Eddie Long’s church have informed three of the five young men who accused the pastor of sexual coercion that they intend to recover nearly $1 million from their financial settlement, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

The letter, sent this week by the Atlanta law firm Drew Eckl & Farnham, alleges that Jamal Parris, Spencer LeGrande and Centino Kemp violated terms of a confidentiality agreement outlined in the settlement with Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.  The firm is seeking at least $900,000 already paid the three accusers, according to people involved in the settlement but not authorized to speak publicly. That figure is a portion of the total settlement with the three men.

Financial terms of that settlement have not been disclosed but, based on the letter and the fact each of the young men were paid equitably, the total comes to at least $1.5 million.

The letter outlines the plaintiffs’ “demand for arbitration” though no legal documents have yet been filed.

The letter could simply be a threat, said Atlanta litigator Hayden Pace.

“No one’s going to turn over the money just simply because you’ve asked for it,” Pace said. “You’re going to have to earn it back by establishing your right to it in the courts.”

Parris and LeGrande, who broke their silence in an interview with the AJC last month, said at the time they were aware of the risk.

“I’m going to tell the world – money does not buy happiness,” LeGrande said in August. “When you sleep at night, the problems are still there. The money stuff, who cares about the number.”

“I feel like burning [the money],” he said.

Pace said the state’s courts take violations of confidentiality agreements seriously.

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FULL STORY HERE.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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Some previous editions of Mo’Kelly’s Two Minute Warning:

Hurricane Irene and Yosemite Park Murder Rate

Will & Jada and Bishop Eddie Long Accusers Speaking Out

Punky Brewster in MJ’s Hot Tub and The East Coast Earthquake

Prophetess Juanita Bynum Typing in Tongues

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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In an instant, the statement posted by New Birth regarding Eddie Long and the two accusers planning to release a book is GONE.

Just like that…posted, then gone.

It seems that the added publicity surrounding the statement/non-statement wasn’t the best thing for the ministry.

Duh?!

Bishop Eddie Long, doing everything he can, except the right thing.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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From a statement published on New Birth’s website…

Link HERE

New Birth Members,

We have a long history of dutifully serving those in need in the local and global communities and we will continue to do so. We are committed to the calling of a strong, viable and relevant ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, we are in the media again and people are wondering what I am going to say. All I have to say is what we stated earlier. All parties involved decided to resolve the civil cases out of court. The decision was made to bring closure to this matter and allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry.

I will continue to honor and abide by my commitment of confidentiality and restraint as it relates to the resolution of the civil litigation and will not be diverted from the important work of the ministry.

I thank God for your faithful support of my journey to South Africa where thousands where blessed and more than 700 people gave their lives to Christ. We also were able to sow more support into the HIV/AIDS Hospice in Johannesburg that we partnered with last year. We built a wonderful bridge of relationships with pastors and community leaders to further establish the Kingdom and bless others.

I love you and thank you for your continued commitment and dedication.

Your Pastor,

Bishop Eddie L. Long

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It makes it awful difficult to “move forward” when you’ve made no effort to address the situation right where you are.  The 800lb elephant is standing in front of you in the middle of the room, “Bishop.”  If/when you address it truthfully and completely (which can be done with no respect to the agreement), then and only then can  you move forward.

People are less concerned about whether you remained true to the Word of God and His expectations and less about whether you remain true to the words contained in a settlement.

Until Fast Eddie figures this out…Mo’Kelly isn’t going anywhere and will remain true to helping him understand the distinction.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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The last conversation between Mo’Kelly and Mr.  Jheri Lacefront was so popular

Bishop Eddie Long (Mr. Jheri Lacefront on top)

with readers, we knew that we’d eventually have to talk to him again.  Last week, New Birth ministries gave Mr. Lacefront his walking papers and thus provided the impetus for Mo’Kelly to reach out to Jheri and get an update on the Bishop and New Birth.

Another exclusive in The Mo’Kelly Report.

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Mo’K: When we last sat down, you were happily employed, reluctant to talk about the specifics of the case against Bishop Eddie Long and generally supportive of him and his ministry. What has changed?

JL: Well, first and foremost…I got laid off. Even before the settlement was reached, folks were getting laid off. It wasn’t too much of a surprise that my number might be called after the settlement.

Mo’K: But he’s still preaching, he still has public appearances…doesn’t he still need you, so folks won’t see his glistening head?”

JL: Nobody said he didn’t have “someone” to do the job, I’m just saying that it’s not me anymore. I don’t know the new hairpiece personally. I know of him…young guy. We obviously are members of the same union. He’s probably getting half of what I made.

Mo’K: So how did you find out, when did you find out and did you have any final conversation with the Bishop before you left?

JL: It was last Friday, I had just finished work. Bishop Long had gone to work out…you know, he wears his Kangols while working out. He left me on a stand in the bathroom. You know, where he takes all of his pictures he sends to his “male friends.” THAT bathroom. Well, HR called me and said to come by. I knew what was up. They gave me a severance relative to years served, made me sign a non-disclosure agreement and had security escort me out the building inside of 30 minutes.

Mo’K: Non-disclosure agreement…but you’re talking to The Mo’Kelly Report?

JL: Yes, I’ll let you know when I can or can’t answer. Do yo’ thang.

Mo’K: Well alrighty then. What did you make of Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande saying publicly they’re writing a book, in return risking their settlement money?

JL: I was confused at first, not sure why . They could’ve written the book in the first place and not gone through all of this. But then I realized, there’s probably more weighing on their decisions than just money. (Sigh – Pause) Let me put it like this. Some pain can’t be erased by money alone. Sometimes you don’t figure that out until after you actually get some money and emotionally you are no better off than before the money.

Mo’K: I hear you. True dat.

JL: There are things I’ve seen and experienced that I’ll never forget. I’m not calling anyone guilty, but I am glad that I’m free. Virtually everything Bishop Long saw…I saw. I’ll put it like that. Everything he did…I witnessed. I was his hairpiece. Every trip, every hotel room, everything. If he was to be seen by people other than his wife, I most definitely was there if he wasn’t wearing a hat. I say that to say…there’s just some stuff that you can’t “un-see”…you can’t un-ring those bells. I’ll leave it at that.

Mo’K: Jheri Lacefont…did Bishop Eddie Long engage in sexual relationships with those young men?

JL: You know I can’t answer that.

Mo’K: Will you admit whether you know the answer?

JL: Yes, I can say I do know the answer…(chuckles)

Mo’K: Mr. Jheri Lacefront, I HAVE to ask you this. Having nothing to do with the case; is Bishop Long gay?

JL: (Pauses)…Define “gay.”

Mo’K: WOW! I think you just answered Mo’Kelly’s question. Were you ever deposed as a witness during mediation?

JL: Yes I was, I submitted a statement.

Mo’K: This is just Mo’Kelly talking. You submitted a statement during the deposition. Either you backed the Bishop’s story and he sold you out now by firing you or you told a story other than the Bishop’s and now he’s getting back at you. Either way, seems to Mo’Kelly you got the short end of the stick.

JL: I guess you could look at it that way, but honestly I wasn’t interested in fighting for my own deck chair on the Titanic. There’s nothing wrong with being escorted to your life raft when you see the iceberg on the horizon. It’s all about perspective. Just because you lose a job, it doesn’t mean it’s a negative.

Mo’K: Centino Kemp, the fifth man linked to Eddie Long has all but said Long’s name in regards to an alleged rape upon meeting him. Did you hear any of his interviews and if so what did you make of them.

JL: All I can say is this. I met Centino a number of times prior to his name popping up in the media. I’ve seen him and I’ve talked to him…often. I didn’t hear the interviews and really didn’t need to hear them. There are some things like I said, you just can’t “un-see.”

Centino Kemp

Mo’K: What does that mean, you’ve seen him? How did you know him?

JL: I’m just saying…I know who Centino is. I can’t say how I met him. But I can say we do know people in common. One in particular.

Mo’K: Understood. So what does a former jheri curl lacefront hairpiece do now that he no longer works for Bishop Eddie Long.

JL: You act as if Brothas have stopped going bald! And I’m not a former anything. I’m still a FLY jheri curl lacefront toupee! My ends haven’t completely dried out yet! I’m just a hairpiece who no longer works for Bishop Eddie Long. In fact, I just got signed to work as Samel L. Jackson’s hairpiece in the upcoming remake of The Last Dragon.

Mo’K: That’s right! He’s playing “Sho’Nuff!”

JL: Yessiree…and I sho’ nuff have a job! (Laughs)  I originally interviewed with him when he was filming Pulp Fiction.  He needed a Jheri Curl for the part but I  didn’t get the job then.  It all worked out it seems, just years later.

Mo’K: How’s your sister doing, is she still a weave in the business?

JL: Absolutely. She’s on tour with Beyoncé, doing the sandy blond weave thing in promotion of the new CD.

Mo’K: A hair weave’s work never ends…

JL: You got that right!

Mo’K: Back to Bishop Long for a moment. When you left New Birth, what was the mood like, what were the services like?

JL: The service…singular, was empty mostly. We stopped filming the balcony because nobody was there and Bishop didn’t want the empty seats viewable to the online audience. Those who are still there are the true believers. If they haven’t left now, they’re never going to leave. But they’re not enough in number to keep New Birth in business. They have to turn it around or they’ll have to pack it in.

Mo’K: How long are we talking about?

JL: A year, maybe less, depending on how much more bad publicity comes their way between now and then. They were talking about downsizing Bishop Long to just a TV show, no congregation. Just minister to the masses via television and ask for donations. It cuts the overhead and keeps his name out there. I don’t wish ill on the man but it doesn’t look good for him.

Mo’K: Let me backtrack. What do you think his “five rocks” were, if this case didn’t go to mediation?

JL: Hmm…I would say that Bishop never really thought it would get this far or last as long as it did in the media. I think that was a surprise to us all. The “five rocks”…just preacher rhetoric for a desired response from that audience on that day. It did its job in that respect. It was a soundbite, never meant to be a full-blown strategy. To this day it still is the most-played soundbite from all of this.

Mo’K: Are you and the Bishop still friends?

JL: He was my employer. He fired me without so much as a “thank you.” You can’t really be “friends” with your boss…he’s your boss. Now he is my former boss. I thank him for the opportunity given me but we knew this was a good time for both of us to move on. He has other boys to do…I mean he has other business to do and I have other foreheads to stick to…that’s how it works.

Mo’K: If you could tell Bishop Long anything in private right now, what would it be?

JL: I would…I would suggest to him that the sooner he humbles himself publicly, the sooner he will see a change in how the media and people in general treat him; the sooner people will become sympathetic. His haughty spirit to me is blocking his blessing and delaying the rebirth of his ministry.

Mo’K: You’d say that…to his face?

JL: Yes I would. I don’t work for him now. It’s different. I’d give him what he needs to know, not what an employee thinks his boss wants to hear.

Mo’K: And there you have it. Another exclusive in The Mo’Kelly Report.  Not once, but TWICE…Mo’Kelly was able to sit and talk with the long-time Jheri Curl Lacefront Toupeé; Mr. Jheri Lacefront. Jheri, always a pleasure to talk to you and we wish you well.

JL: Thank you Mo’Kelly.

Click HERE for Mo’Kelly’s first conversation with Mr. Jheri Lacefront.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

Free Subscription to The Mo’Kelly Report HERE

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Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande sat down with WSB TV’s Jodie Fleischer and broke it down, understanding that they might be in violation of the settlement gag order.

Clearly, they are going for the jugular and the rumored public apology which never happened is still a thorn in their sides.

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Full Story HERE.

Video HERE.

For the first time since they settled their case against Bishop Eddie Long, two of the young men who accused him of sexual abuse are speaking out.

Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande agreed to their first sit-down interview with Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer inside a Miami hotel late last week.

Parris and LeGrande and three other young men entered into a confidential settlement with Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist church three months ago.

By sitting down to talk with Fleischer, they risk losing that money, but said it’s worth it because it’s more important for everyone to know the truth.

“It’s just not enough anymore. I thought I could cover the pain up. I thought I could move, start over and everything will go away. I was terribly wrong,” Parris said.

Parris, 24, still bears the scars of abuse he says he suffered at the hands of Long. He is angry and emotional and wants Long to know what he’s done to him.

“Before I used to look at you like you were the man. You ran everything, but now I got a voice. Like you got a voice,” Parris said.

LeGrande wanted to follow his spiritual father’s path and become a preacher. His strong faith in God has given him a sense of calm now.

“I was fatherless, and to have a man love me just for who I was, I didn’t have to change myself, I just had to be me, I just had to love him back,” he said.

“The hardest part for me is watching somebody who you love destroy himself,” LeGrande said.

But the two men do share the most traumatic experience of their young lives. Both said Long manipulated their desperate need for a father into unwanted sexual contact that destroyed the boys they used to be.

“It’s the hopeful kid in you like, maybe daddy’s gonna be daddy today and maybe this thing done weighed enough on him that I can’t let my kids go out there like that. I’m not gonna let my kids take this,” Parris said.

Once the four lawsuits were filed last September, Parris says he watched on TV as Long addressed his congregation for the first time.

“I feel like David against Goliath, but I got five rocks and I haven’t thrown one yet,” Long said in his sermon that day.

“I couldn’t even stop crying cause I was angry. And the way he walked off and the way I saw the people stand up and applaud this man, how dare you?” Parris said.

They said all four of the young men who sued Long eventually sat across the table from him together during settlement talks.

Even behind closed doors, they said Long never admitted to any of the abuse, nor did he apologize. But he did settle the case, paying cash to the four young men who sued, plus another who joined in later. For a while they said they felt vindicated.

“Tell me you didn’t do it. The case has now been closed. For real? For what? I thought you got five stones?” Parris said.

“If you read the Bible again, mister, we are David. And we definitely did the right thing,” LeGrande said. Parris said he loves that he hates Long and hates that he loves him. That torment has led the two young men to start writing their story, every detail, chapter by chapter. They said the book will be as much for themselves as it is for others.

“Is there a lot out there that people still don’t know?” Fleischer asked.

“Absolutely,” said LeGrande. Parris added, “You ain’t ready for the secrets. I don’t care if this book sells one copy. But if it’s just for me, this is what my life looked like, this is my voice for the first time.”

They want to help others still going through it. And they said writing a book will help them express what they’ve been through, and help others recognize the warning signs.

“Ten years of details, each person, it’s gonna be a book full of ‘wow’s’ and ‘ahh’s’ and ‘Oh my God’s.’” LeGrande said.

Parris said he’s considered suicide. “I would love to pull a trigger. I would love to take pills and go to sleep, and not have to worry about anything. But I can’t, I have a kid on the way. So I have to fight every day to make sure I leave a better name for my son than I do for me.”

LeGrande also has a little boy and both men said they want to be better fathers than they had.

“We’re trying to help, not just spread the word about a person, we’re trying to break people loose about their fear of coming out and speaking,” LeGrande said. He said it’s not just teens who are around Long now, but adults who’ve kept his secrets for years.

“Once you have that much money to pay people and your money’s involved in their lifestyle, you have people that’s gonna support you no matter if you had a videotape showing it,” LeGrande said.

They said the four young men who sued Long are all heterosexual and never had intercourse with him. But the scars of what did happen linger. Both Parris and LeGrande said they understand they are risking their confidential settlement money by speaking about the case. Both said they did not care about that.

Fleischer was able to reach a representative for Long. He declined to comment about the proposed book, or what the young men had to say now.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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Jamal Parris, 24, was driving a white 2011 BMW in Miami Beach Tuesday evening

Jamal Parris

when a Florida Highway Patrol officer noticed that it had no tags.

Sgt. Seth Dubinsky stopped the car. When he approached it, he smelled marijuana, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday.

Dubinsky searched the car and said he found 181 grams of marijuana, which is worth about $1,000 on the street. He said he also found 50 clear plastic baggies and a Taurus semiautomatic handgun. He said Parris also was carrying $1,250 in cash.

The gear was “indicative of a drug dealer,” Dubinsky said. Parris was arrested and jailed. He was charged with two felony counts: possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. He also was charged with operating a motor vehicle with no registration, a misdemeanor.

FULL STORY HERE

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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From CNN:

Long has “been successful at building a ministry at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that places a special emphasis on outreach to men, reinforcing to men the importance of partnering with a ministry that will grow them spiritually and will help them develop the life skills needed to become successful in the workplace and teach them how to become entrepreneurs and leaders,” the court documents said.

“Bishop Long admits that he mentors many young men from challenged backgrounds, who have often been without the benefit of a male role model,” according to the documents. “The mentor/mentee relationship between Bishop Long as mentor and the mentee is firmly grounded on expressed promises of honesty and truthfulness.”

Long provided cars for the youths so they would have transportation to school and work, according to the responses, and provided them housing when they needed it — in the case of LeGrande, for instance, because his school had no dormitory and he was living in a hotel room, and in the case of Flagg, because he could not return to his mother’s home after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting her during a confrontation. Long provides many church members with employment, the responses said.

Long admits that he “provides opportunities for travel, education and personal growth to many members of his congregation” and claims in the responses that he often shares hotel rooms with members of his congregation when traveling.

Some of the young men have said that Long encouraged them to call him “Daddy.” In his responses to the suits, Long’s attorneys say that the “entire New Birth membership calls Bishop Long ‘Daddy’ or ‘Bishop.’” Participants in the pastor’s LongFellows Youth Academy call him “Pop,” according to the documents, and members of other churches call Long “Granddaddy.”

“The references to and association between Bishop Long (and other religious leaders) and a ‘Spiritual Father’ is based upon the crisis in the African American community of fatherlessness,” the documents said.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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