Controversial "prosperity" preacher who preached extreme hate against LGBTQ people from his pulpit and in his books. He was the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1987 until his death in 2017. At the height of his infamous reign, Long flew around the world on a private jet, drove a $350,000 Bentley, and lived in a $1.4 million house. When Coretta Scott King was funeralized at Long's church in 2006, President George W. Bush attended her funeral along with three former presidents.
His fall from grace occurred after four young male congregants filed lawsuits against Long, accusing him of persuading them to have carnal relationships with him in exchange for trips, clothes, and cars. Two of the men accused Long of grooming them for carnal relationships through the church’s LongFellows Youth Academy. The other two (one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, NC) made similar claims. After declaring from the pulpit that he would fight the allegations, Long settled the cases out of court less than a year after the suits were filed. The settlement amounts were not publicly disclosed but was alleged to be $15 million. (https://www.essence.com/news/bishop-eddie-long-15-million-settlement-sexual-abuse-accusers/)
Long died on January 15, 2017.
