Gospel legend Donnie McClurkin is officially taking the gloves off. After a bombshell lawsuit was filed on January 2, 2026, accusing the Grammy winner of years of sexual abuse and grooming, the pastor is using his own platform to shut down the noise.
McClurkin took to social media to deliver a direct, face-to-face message to his followers, doubling down on his previous legal statements and calling the accusations a strategic campaign of defamation.
The lawsuit, brought forward by a man named Giuseppe Corletto, alleges that McClurkin used “pray the gay away” sessions to groom and eventually assault him between 2007 and 2015. However, McClurkin is painting a completely different picture. “I just wanted to address something personally,” the singer began in his video address. “You’ve heard many different accusations lodged and alleged. You have heard some very untrue things… but I want to lend my voice and my face to this.” He went on to thank his supporters for their prayers, adding, “Thank God for truth which you have not heard. You haven’t heard it but you will.”
During the lengthy address, McClurkin didn’t hold back on his thoughts regarding his accuser’s motives. He noted that he hasn’t seen or spoken to the individual since 2015 and suggested the lawsuit is fueled by a desire for a payday. “People do things for different reasons, most of them are monetary motivated and it’s a shame,” McClurkin stated. He further argued that false claims hurt actual survivors, saying, “To consider yourself or to proclaim yourself as a victim of something that didn’t happen discredits the people it has happened to.”
While the lawsuit reportedly contains an alleged 2013 email where McClurkin supposedly refers to himself as a “dirty old man,” the singer maintains his innocence and insists he has always held up the “standard of Christ.
He concluded his message by claiming the entire situation is a fabrication. “I transparently tell you that this is all fabricated and untrue,” he declared. “And I’m praying for the gentleman that he would regain some kind of lucid thought and give his life to the Lord really.”
As the case moves toward the legal foreground in February, McClurkin says he is relying on the Lord to bring the real story to the light.
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People after money
Sorry the guy’s story don’t add up. If he got abused and left the church why did he come back for more?
I’m just saying! Donnie has given him many platforms to come out when he told his own sexually abuse story, why didn’t the guy come out then? How much money do this guy want? Or Need?