Televangelist Jim Bakker‘s latest scam could get him taken off the airwaves because AT&T doesn’t want to get sued for airing Bakker’s false claims of COVID-19 cures.
Remember that Bakker was threatened, then sued, over his promotion of “Silver Solution” that one of his guests claimed could kill coronavirus within 12 hours.
Bakker himself said the product was a “miracle” drug that cured practically everything.
Just last week, Bakker said credit card companies had cut off his ministry, making it harder to collect donations.
“We were doing so well,” Bakker lamented. “For the last few weeks, [the processing companies] have been taking the money and putting it in their own accounts. We have not received money. They think because somebody told a lie about us, so now they’re saying, ‘Well, the people might want their money back, so we’ve got to keep all your money.’ Please stand with us. If people come against us, then it’s going to be impossible for us to stay on the air.”
The “lie” he’s referring to is Silver Solution. Bakker, however, insisted that he never promoted the product as a cure for coronavirus. That may be a cop-out since his guest absolutely promoted it… while Bakker sat there and went along with it.
Here is the original clip where he did precisely that. https://t.co/XnwGBpkTS2
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) April 14, 2020
And now AT&T is worried.
According to the Springfield News-Leader, the company sent a letter to several channels which air Bakker’s show through AT&T’s “DirecTV” platform and urged them to look into possible legal ramifications.
According to a letter from a top AT&T official obtained by the News-Leader, the company recently asked seven channels airing on AT&T’s DirecTV platform to look at whether they should continue to carry the Jim Bakker Show.
“We have reached out to each of these channels,” wrote vice president of global public policy Brent Olson, “and asked that they carefully review this programming to ensure it complies with their contractual and legal obligations to us.”
The channels include Christian Television Network, Daystar, GEB America, ImpactNetwork, Upliftv, The Word Network and World Harvest Television, according to the letter.
It’s possible the channels could conclude Bakker’s scams aren’t worth whatever audience or fees he brings to the table. It’s also possible they do nothing.
The newspaper noted that World Harvest Television allegedly dropped Bakker’s show already, but that has not been confirmed by the network. It was, however, suggested by their own programming guide:
According to News-Leader review of multiple online TV schedules, including a DirecTV schedule for World Harvest Television, it appeared that reruns of Bakker’s weekday show previously scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday had been replaced by episodes of “Lone Ranger,” a Western drama that originally aired from 1949 to 1957.
They replaced a man who’s selling silver with a man who rides Silver. I like it.
In any case, Bakker didn’t mention any of this on yesterday’s episode… but he reiterated that no one on the show ever said the silver solution could sure COVID-19. Even though there’s video evidence of his guest saying exactly that.
Jim Bakker continues to insist that his network never suggested that the silver solution it sold could cure the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/1AAdlyZnyK
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) April 20, 2020
I never thought I’d say this, but Bakker would’ve been better off selling giant buckets of food.
(via Right Wing Watch)