Televangelist George Bloomer wins $62.2M in racial discrimination lawsuit against Word Network

Televangelist George Bloomer was awarded $62.2 million by a federal jury, four years after suing Kevin Adell, the white owner of The Word Network, billed as the “largest African American religious network in the world,” for race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

A federal jury in Detroit made the award Wednesday following a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Susan DeClercq, The Detroit News reported.

Bloomer, 63, who founded the Bethel Family Worship Center, a multicultural ministry in Durham, North Carolina, hosted the television programs “Rejoice in the Word” and “The First Word” on the network from approximately 2011 to September 2019. He left the network in 2019 following an uproar over a controversial meme showing the pimping of black pastors. Black pastors protested and called for a boycott of the network.

In the petition calling for the boycott, Bloomer alleged that in September 2019, Adell texted a photoshopped image of himself dressed as a pimp surrounded by well-known black clergy he called “hoes” to various staff members, many of whom are black. Bloomer was included in the text.

“When Bishop Bloomer stated: ‘This is not funny. This is not good. That pimp talk and hoe talk has racist connotations for Black people.’ Adell texted Bishop Bloomer a second time and said that ‘it’s funny and he should get over it,’” the petition said.

Bloomer then went to Adell and his assistant in person at The Word Network and told them: “Don’t ever tweet that. You should get rid of it. This is not funny. Don’t play with this and don’t play with it with me.”

Rather than apologizing, Adell allegedly photoshopped a picture of Bloomer in a white tuxedo into the image and added text underneath it that said: “The show last night was good, Tattoo (the dwarf from Fantasy Island who ran around calling Mr. Roarke ‘Boss’).”

“Kevin Adell was alluding to Bishop Bloomer being HIS Tattoo, and him being ‘Boss.’ Although Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island was a good character, the term ‘boss’ in the Black community carries the connotation of ‘massa,’ and that is precisely what Kevin Adell was suggesting. The article that accompanied the photoshopped image of Kevin as a pimp and his hoes even refers to him as the ‘massa’ of The Word Network,” the petition said.

When Bloomer pushed back, warning Adell that “This is not good. I don’t know what you’re doing but stop playing,” Adell replied, “Oh, you’re too sensitive.” 

The disagreement over the image ended with Bloomer’s decision to leave the Word Network.

Adell later apologized in a statement shared with The Christian Post, but Bloomer sued him and the network in 2022.

“The recent allegations made against me, based on a visual that wasn’t created by me, were clearly disturbing and don’t depict who I am, nor my character.  To Bishop George Bloomer, whom I have tremendous respect for, worked with for nearly a decade, called a friend over the years and shared many laughs, I apologize profusely,” Adell wrote. “I, too, am hurt by the allegations from someone who I held in the highest esteem and partnered with to spread the gospel. I have also sought counsel from African American clergy, many who comprise The Word Network, and others who I respect and are not affiliated with the network."

Adell had previously claimed Bloomer "quit the network … because he wanted more airtime" and Bloomer didn’t want to make adjustments to the show as suggested by staff. He further argued that Bloomer was trying to stir up controversy with the meme "to get support to hopefully make changes so he could get back on the air."