Joel Osteen is one of the most popular televangelists and megachurch preachers in the country.
He's even got a fan in Kanye West.
But just because he's got a lot of support doesn't mean he's popular with everyone.
He may have a lot of celebrities in his corner, but he also has a lot of celebrity haters.
In case you were unaware, Osteen is one of the richest and most successful preachers
of something called the "prosperity gospel."
It basically teaches that God will reward you with more money when you are faithful
and practice tithing, according to Christianity Today.
It shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that former president Donald Trump also seems to
be a fan of this message.
On the flip side, celebrities have put the minister on blast.
Many have argued that Osteen's church is pretty cynical, as far as churches go, and might
be more about making money for Osteen than spreading the word of Jesus.
Comedian Sarah Cooper first became a household name in 2020 with her hilarious videos of
herself lip-synching some of former president Donald Trump's statements — most infamously
the bleach-injections press conference.
But 2020 was hardly the first year that Cooper voiced her opinions online.
In 2019, reacting to the news that Kanye West would be performing his Sunday Service at
Joel Osteen's church in Houston, Cooper tweeted:
"The only thing that would make this more perfect is if they invited Trump too."
We clearly know what Cooper thinks of Trump, so we can make an educated guess as to what
this tweet says about her feelings on Osteen.
Cooper also followed up the quote-tweet with another, joking,
"Q: What denomination is Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church?
A: They prefer ten's and twenty's."
This appears to be a winking reference to the criticism that Osteen's church is really
all about the money.
One of the biggest scandals Joel Osteen faced was when he was, to many minds, inexcusably
late in offering his megachurch as shelter for victims of Hurricane Harvey.
This, understandably, made a lot of people mad.
Rapper T.I.
was absolutely not having it.
The hip-hop superstar took to his Instagram and absolutely went off on the pastor, firing
direct shots at Osteen as well as megachurches in general.
He said:
"How can someone (especially a so called man of God) make 70+ [million a year] TAX FREE
from citizens of a city that's now in distress & in [dire] need of food water & shelter NOT
OPEN THE DOORS OF GODs HOUSE (supposedly) to help those in need?"
T.I.
tagged Osteen directly writing, quote, "YOU SIR ARE A FRAUD!!!!"
"The city has a shelter four miles from here.
We work with the city all the time and when their s-, their shelter was totally full,
they started bringing people over here."
On his HBO show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver is known for his deep dives into underreported
and systemic issues in America, and no grift is unspared.
While Oliver did not mention Joel Osteen by name in his episode taking down prosperity
gospel televangelists in 2015, it's not hard to see how his megachurch might be included.
In the episode, Oliver slammed televangelists for using their tax exempt status, religious
organizations do not have to pay the same taxes as businesses, to rip off viewers who
think they're paying the church, but their money is really going into the pastor's pockets.
Even though the segment did not mention Osteen's church by name, it has been cited by others
criticizing the controversial pastor as a reason for why they consider him untrustworthy.
Articles in The Week and Esquire, for example, make the connection between the churches Oliver
was skewering, and Osteen's.
For comedian King Keraun, Joel Osteen's response, or lack of response, to the Houston victims
of Hurricane Harvey hit home in a very real way.
In the wake of the hurricane, Keraun had flown to Houston, where he is from, to help any
hurricane victims he could, and he reportedly saved 12 people.
Though Osteen's church claimed they hadn't opened because of flooding, Keraun didn't
seem to buy this excuse.
The Houston pastor also tweeted:
"Victoria and I care deeply about our fellow Houstonians.
Lakewood's doors are open and we are receiving anyone who needs shelter."
In a video published on TMZ, the actor stressed that people needed help and implied that Osteen
would only open the church when it came time for parishioners to give the church money.
"I bet you'll open the church on Sunday, and I bet you'll open up offerings on Sunday.
You see who really is Houston and who really loves this city when a time like this happens
because this is when it's a time not to get paid."
If we were in his shoes, we'd be pretty upset, too.
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