Jamal Bryant On Periscope: I’m ‘Flawed With Character,’ But Can’t Talk About 10-Month-Old Baby Son, Abortion Charges
Pastor Jamal Bryant apparently isn’t ready to talk about new allegations that Jamal allegedly fathered a 10-month-old baby boy out of wedlock, nor pressures that the mother claims Bryant put on her to have an abortion. As reported by the Inquisitr, Latoya Shawntee Odom provided evidence that she claims proves that Bryant is the father of her baby.
As seen in the below video, Odom talks about some of the explosive charges being levied against the pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Lots more of Latoya’s accusations can be seen in the form of text messages, photos, and DNA reports that pinpoint Bryant as the father of her baby boy with a more than 99 percent certainty.
With Bryant having once been married to reality TV star Gizelle Bryant of The Real Housewives of Potomac, the pastor was pretty up front in the below video from Roland Martin, when he spoke of his previous infidelity. Jamal said that it wasn’t actually his cheating that broke up his marriage but the fact that his former wife said Bryant went to a dark place during that time — one in which Jamal was more concerned about saving his career than his marriage.
Now it seems Jamal needs to be just as “transparent” — as church folks like to say — about the new accusations being brought against him. Whereas the Christian community could be somewhat ready to forgive a pastor (especially a male pastor) for adultery, the thought of pressuring someone to have an abortion would be a different story. And perhaps Jamal would be ready to tell that whole story someday, to help drag himself out of the situation he now finds himself in. After all, the truth will make you free, as the Holy Bible says.
But it seems Jamal isn’t ready to do much beyond spouting platitudes and blaming his attorneys for his silence on the matter. As reported by EurWeb, Jamal blamed his lawyers for not being able to talk about the details of Odom’s accusations — which would be a whole lot more interesting than what the pastor is speaking to the public now. Bryant called himself a rare person who was “flawed with character.”
“Over the last week, a lot has been said and a lot has been suggested and like you I was thrown into a tailspin. I had to shut down for a minute so that my response would not be that of a man but be priestly as a man of God. To that end, let me say to you I am one of those rare people who are flawed with character. That with all of my issues I don’t run from them I stand right next to them. Those of you who have been with me you are fully aware that some eight, nine years now, I went through a divorce and claimed all of it my responsibility. The worst mistake you can ever make is to repeat the exact same mistake.”
Even in speaking about his divorce and claiming that Bryant faces things head on, his statement did not mention affirmatively nor deny any claims about fathering a child nor pressuring anyone to have an abortion — something a pastor’s congregation would surely deserve to know was a lie or the truth.
Instead, Jamal focused on calling God his battle ax and — oddly — his “butler.” After praising the Lord, Bryant turned to talk of lawyers.
“His grace is sufficient and his mercy endures. My legal counsel says I cannot go through any [in-]depth talking about it but there is nothing that can stop me from talking to God. When there is something to be said you will hear it directly from me, you will not have to look for a secondary source.”
After that, Jamal spoke of himself in the third person, soliciting prayers and telling people that Sunday morning was for discussions of Jesus and “not to talk about Jamal.” With all the heat on this developing story, it’s no wonder Bryant wouldn’t want to talk about himself.
However, with the DNA paternity test making the rounds and 34-year-old Latoya talking about her experiences, perhaps Bryant will be ready to speak when his new talk show, The Preachers, premiers on July 11, as seen below.
[Photo by AP Photo/Phil Sears]
