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Inside Edition Chief Investigative Correspondent Lisa Guerrero confronted televangelist Kenneth Copeland over his lavish lifestyle and the results were uncomfortable.
The tense, 11-minute interview is part of an Inside Edition investigative report looking into how preachers are spending the millions of dollars of donations from their congregations.
When the interviewer asks Copeland to explain a previous comment he had made, referring to human beings as “demons” to justify his use of a private jet, the preacher gets angry. “Do you really believe that human beings are demons?” she asked. “No, I do not and don’t you ever say I did,” Copeland responded as he pointed his finger at her for several tense seconds.
The interviewer is unfazed and continues to press the preacher on the issue who defends his words and invokes the scripture to justify his use of private jets. Copeland openly admits he is “unprepared” for the interview and struggles to come up with direct answers to Lisa’s questions.
Guerrero asks Copeland what he would say to people who think his high-cost lifestyle goes against the teachings of Jesus who responds “they’re wrong”. He then goes on to say that if you go into the “old covenant, do you think Jewish people believe you should be broke?” and that they “believe in wealth”.
The interviewer and pastor go back and forth until the pastor ends the interview on friendly terms saying “Father bless Lisa today and thank you for her grandparents and giving me the opportunity to know her and her team today.”
Renewed Controversy for Kenneth Copeland
The 82-year-old Copeland is a pastor, public speaker, star of “Believer’s Voice of Victory,” TV show and network, and owner of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries which features a 1,500-acre campus near Fort Worth, TX. The church boasts a private airstrip and hangar for its $17.5 million gulf stream jet and 4 other private aircraft. Kenneth Copeland currently lives in a $6 million church-owned lakefront mansion.
He’s been criticized before for his luxury lifestyle. In 2015, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver featured a segment where they pointed out how Copeland is using tax laws to live in a $6.3M mansion because the parsonage allowance for their home is not subject to income taxes. Like Inside Edition, Oliver also pointed out how the $20M is used for more than church operations including trips to a ski resort and a private game ranch. The show also pointed out troubling segments where Copeland and his wife, Gloria, promote faith-based healing over receiving medical treatment.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM) also came under fire in 2010 for the “Angel Flight 44” controversy where the church promised air support to Haiti earthquake victims but never followed through. They also received national news coverage in 2013 for allegedly causing a measles outbreak in Tarrant County due to preaching anti-vaccination advice to their congregation.
You can watch highlights from Inside Edition’s entire investigation here.