Andrew Caldwell became a viral video star after his testimony at the 2014 Church of God In Christ convention went viral. In the video, Caldwell proudly exclaims, “I’m not gay no [sic] more” to the thunderous applause of the crowd. It’s grand theatrics as Caldwell further testifies, “I don’t like mens [sic] no [sic] more. I like women, women, women, women!”
Since that time, he has been in and out of the news, but reached a new level of infamy when he claimed in 2015 he had a same-sex romance with former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star and retired NFL star Kordell Stewart. Not surprisingly, Stewart, who has long been plagued by gay rumors, denied the claims and filed a lawsuit against Caldwell over the allegations. Caldwell later apologized and retracted his comments. Stewart prevailed in his defamation lawsuit against Caldwell in November 2016 after Caldwell failed to appear in court.
However, the issue was not over for Stewart, who has stated that he has suffered damaged to his career, image and hurt his family. The judge in the case has to access the actual damages that Stewart incurred because of Caldwell’s statements. Media outlet DailyMail states that Stewart claims Caldwell’s “false’ and harmful allegations have limited his credibility and respect in an industry where toughness and ‘macho’ personalities dominate. As such Stewart is now plagued with illegitimate questions about his sexuality ‘personally and professionally in a sports industry that has made homosexuality an unenviable, controversial and taboo topic.’
According to the court documents, Stewart is seeking $4.5M in damages that includes $2M in general damages for the emotional stress and professional harm caused by the malicious statements. There has been no reaction from Caldwell on the amount of money Stewart is asking for and it is highly doubtful he can afford it.
