A flashy Brooklyn bible thumper whose church was robbed while he was delivering a sermon over the summer has filed a $50 million lawsuit against a New York City hip hop radio station and one of its hosts for calling him a “drug dealer” on the air.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead said the accusation by 94.7 The Block’s morning host Miss Jones hurt his reputation.
“Miss Jones’ statements exposed plaintiff to public contempt, ridicule, aversion, and disgrace,” according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. “Miss Jones’ statements imply criminal activity and injured plaintiff’s reputation as a pastor.”
The lawsuit said the accusation is false.
According to the filing, Jones, whose full name is Tarsha Nicole Jones, said during a Sept. 13 broadcast that Whitehead, pastor of the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry, is “drug dealer,” and was “using the church to hide that old drug money.”
She went on to say that Whitehead’s church “is where he’s probably still doing his dirty work.”
Whitehead’s lawsuit also names the station, WXBK, and Paramount Global. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., which is not named in the suit
“We are aware of the lawsuit and are investigating,” an Audacy spokesman said in a statement. “We have no further comment at this time.”
Whitehead did not immediately reply to a message requesting comment.
Whitehead was briefly handcuffed in September after a clash with a woman during a Sunday service at the Remsen Avenue church.
That was nearly two months after armed gunmen interrupted his sermon and robbed him and his wife of jewelry valued at close to $1 million.
Whitehead, 44, an ally of Mayor Adams, was in the headlines prior to the robbery.
In May, he tried to orchestrate the surrender of Andrew Abdullah, the man accused of fatally shooting Goldman Sachs researcher Daniel Enriquez on the Q train, to the mayor.
Jones, 52, a one-time morning fixture, returned to the airwaves in August as the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. host at 94.7 The Block, a throwback hip hop station.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jones was known for hot takes on entertainment news and conducting no-holds-barred interviews with the hip-hop elite. She developed a reputation for being a radio shock jock in the style of Howard Stern and Wendy Williams.
Comments