Bishop T.D. Jakes has finally responded to a viral TikTok. The iconic minister, entrepreneur and executive producer of the upcoming Lifetime film Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins addressed a rumor about him being connected to the operation of the gossip-based media outlet, The Shade Room.
A few months after the online conspiracy resurfaced from a viral January 2023 tweet, The Shade Room put out a statement going against Doja Cat for her photo shoot in a devil outfit. The statement only added to conspiracists’ beliefs.
T. D. Jakes camp running the shade room is not beating the allegations 😭 https://t.co/fMvuCq9U7k
— giselle’s renaissance, M.S. (@4for21) February 24, 2023
During a press run for Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story, which premieres on April 8 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime, Jakes exclusively responded to the allegations to rolling out.
To ask directly to clear up any misunderstandings out there, are you or the Potter’s House behind The Shade Room?
No. I do not own it. I do not have stock in it. I do not have shares in it. I didn’t know that even existed until I heard it. Like most rumors, the person that they’re talking about discovers the information when they read it.
So I do not own The Shade Room. I am a proud investor in a lot of businesses, a lot of companies and The Shade Room is not one of them. It’s a very profitable business, but I don’t own it.
With Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story, what should people expect from this project?
I think [viewers] are going to be blown away because the project is full of unexpected characters, casting, storyline, drama and quality. We’ve seen Stephanie Mills on Broadway, but we haven’t seen much of her on-screen. She’s amazing as Birdie, she does a great job in this character. I think a lot of Black women are going to see themselves in the character Birdie to some degree. Younger [viewers] are going to see themselves in the character that [Keeya] King [played by Ella Boudreaux] is playing as the niece.
This film was inspired by a real-life story. It’s going to be shocking because we see Nephew Tommy through a very narrow lens of radio and comedy. I did not know he was a professionally-trained actor. He broke out of Shakespeare and he delivers in this movie. It’s a whole new guy that you have not seen before, and it’s just mind-boggling to see him be able to do it.
To have Erica Campbell sing with Stephanie Mills at a point in the film, and Erica plays a pastor, not just a singer, they all come together to a crescendo of a story that I think Lifetime is proud of, and we are certainly proud to be producers on the project.
What role do you think pride plays in sin?
First of all, mental health is physical health. If you’re not well mentally, you’re not well, anywhere. We’re starting to recognize pride is not just a sin, it’s one of those toxic behaviors that does not manifest physically. It’s not like drinking, it’s not like shooting up, so it gets permission to be in the most prestigious rooms without being observable.
Then, we can justify it because we have a reason why we feel proud. Like, why we don’t speak to our cousin or won’t speak to our ex or why we won’t let our ex see our children. There are a lot of reasons that justify pride.
