Donnie McClurkin, a Grammy-winning gospel singer and pastor who helped “pray the gay away,” has been accused of sexually abusing a young man over several years.
In the lawsuit, Giuseppe Corletto, who was 21 when he first met Donnie in 2003, said that Donnie even wrote an apology email to him, declaring himself a “dirty ‘old man’,” NBC News reported.
Giuseppe was struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith when he went to Donnie’s church in Long Island, New York, the lawsuit said. He sought out Donnie after reading his autobiographical book in which he described how God helped him overcome the “curse” of homosexuality.
In an interview with NBC News, Giuseppe said that at the church event, Donnie “talked about being raped as a child, which resonated with me because that’s similar to my story.”
After the event, Giuseppe said he was brought to meet with Donnie, who took an immediate interest in him. “At first, it was all very innocent and what I thought was mentoring,” he told NBC News.
But Giuseppe said he now believes he was being groomed from the start.
The molestation began during Donnie’s “pray the gay away” spiritual sessions and escalated over the next several years, the lawsuit said. During this period, Giuseppe also worked as Donnie McClurkin’s assistant and regularly traveled with him.
Giuseppe said that abuse escalated to rape on work trips, noting that he attempted to quit his job multiple times, but Donnie guilted him into staying, according to the lawsuit.
“He would always compare me to people in the Bible like Elisha and Elijah,” Giuseppe said, referring to the prophets who had a mentor-mentee relationship. “There was a lot of biblical manipulation.”
Donnie McClurkin’s “dirty ‘old man’” apology
According to the lawsuit, Giuseppe Corletto “struggled to process these incidents of sexual abuse, as [Donnie McClurkin] was both his mentor and employer, making it difficult for him to speak out about the abuse he had suffered.”
The lawsuit also mentioned an apology email Donnie allegedly wrote for his actions after an alleged sexual assault at a Niagara Falls hotel in 2013. “I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty ‘old man’,” he allegedly wrote in the message.
According to the lawsuit, Donnie admitted to “pawning and groping a young man who is just looking for a friendship and close platonic relationship with someone he wants looks to for help, guidance and spirituality” in his email.
“I feel so foul…so stupid,” Donnie added in the email, according to Giuseppe’s lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Donnie McClurkin denies allegations
Donnie McClurkin has denied all allegations as “categorically false” through his attorney.
“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” Greg Lisi, the attorney, was quoted as saying by NBC News.
“The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over 2 decades, ago,” Greg said in a statement. “All these allegations are contradicted by the real facts.”
Who is Donnie McClurkin?
Donnie McClurkin is a gospel singer-turned-pastor who won three Grammy awards and sold millions of albums. In 1996, Oprah Winfrey declared his self-titled album as one of her favorite things, paving his path to stardom.
However, in his 2002 book “Eternal Victim-Eternal Victor,” Donnie shared that he was sexually abused by an uncle when he was 8, which he believes caused his homosexuality.
In his book, Donnie claimed that reading Scripture helped him “break the curse of homosexuality”.
