Kenneth Copeland

Submission 3,285

About

Kenneth Copeland is an American televangelist and leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries. The preacher claims to reach more than 122 million people around the world.

History

In 1957, Kenneth Copeland released a hit record, "Pledge of Love." The song peaked at #14 on the national charts.^[1]

10 years later, in 1967, Kenneth Copeland enrolled in Oral Roberts University, working alongside televangelist Oral Roberts and acting as his driver and pilot.^[2]^[3] The following year, Copeland moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he started his own ministry, the Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

Over the next five decades, Copeland's ministry continued to grow, reaching as many as 122 million people.^[4]

Criticism

Copeland has been the subject of numerous controversies that focus on his political connections and finances. On August 16th, 2015, Copeland, along with several other televangelists, was the subject of a segment on Last Week Tonight. The post received more than 32 million views in less than six years (shown below).

Inside Edition "Private Jet" Interview

On May 20th, 2019, Inside Edition interviewed Copeland in Branson, Missouri, about his refusal to fly on commercial. He reportedly paid more than $3.6 million for Tyler Perry's private jet. Journalist Lisa Guerrero asked for a response on the criticism that it is "unbecoming" of a Chuch leader to lead such a lavish lifestyle. Copeland said that he prayed for a plane. He continued, "[Tyler Perry] made it so cheap for me, I couldn't help but buy it."

Previously, Copeland said that he did not fly commercial because did not "want to get into a tube with a bunch of demons." Guerrero asked, "Do you really believe that human beings are demons?" He denied the allegations. He said, "No, I do not and don’t you ever say I did."

Kenneth Copeland's "Wind of God"

Kenneth Copeland's 'Wind of God' refers to a viral video clip of evangelical preacher Kenneth Copeland praying and blowing away COVID-19 with the "wind of God" from his mouth in April 2020. The video was widely mocked online and accumulated remixes and captioned screenshots.

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland Laughing

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland Laughing refers to a viral video of televangelist Kenneth Copeland cackling after announcing that the media said "Joe Biden's president."

On November 8th, 2020, the Twitter account for Right Wing Watch published the clip of Copeland laughing and saying, "The media said, 'What?' The media says 'Joe Biden's president." The tweet received more than 10.7 million views, 31,000 likes and 43,000 retweets in less than two days (shown below).