Scamvangelist Jim Bakker: I Was “One of the First Examples of Cancel Culture”

If you need proof that the term “cancel culture,” as used by conservatives, has absolutely no useful meaning whatsoever, look no further than televangelist Jim Bakker.

Bakker was famously indicted in the 1980s on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Among other things, he asked donors to buy “exclusive partnerships” to a hotel he was building… only to sell far more partnerships than he could legally offer. (You should check out this podcast detailing his crimes.) While initially sentenced to 45 years behind bars, Bakker ultimately spent five years in jail for his crimes. (He’s still selling lies. Just last year, he was hawking a “Silver Solution” miracle gel that he falsely claimed could cure venereal disease and COVID.)

Yet on his show yesterday, Bakker described that indictment and jail sentence as an example of “cancel culture.”

Millions of people visited me at Heritage USA, which was the largest ministry of its kind in the world. Millions of people came there, and traffic was miles and miles long to get in at Christmastime. It was unbelievable. And yet that was destroyed! That ministry today is gone!… And they took it away from me and put me in a prison for 45 years! How could they do that?

Well, Alan Dershowitz came and defended me. He said “Jim Bakker’s not getting a fair trial,” and he won. He won! And got the judge who put me in prison for all those years… got thrown out of the case. And today I’m free, and I’m back preaching the gospel.

For many years, I’ve been out of prison… Almost close to 30 years I’ve been out of prison… I was probably one of the first examples of cancer culture.

Bakker wasn’t “canceled.” He was a convicted felon who got caught. Just like Alan Dershowitz, who defended Jeffrey Epstein, could be in the near future.

Bakker loves to pretend he’s being persecuted for his views when the truth is he’s only ever been prosecuted for his crimes. And yet there are still Christians who give him money to this day because they’re too ignorant to understand they’re being duped. Why would Bakker ever set them straight? There’s too much money to gain from continuing to lie. And nothing about Christianity will ever convince him otherwise.

(via Right Wing Watch)