James Orsen Bakker, also known as Jim Bakker, was born on 2nd January 1940 in the United States and is currently 82 years of age. Jim and his former wife Tammy Faye Bakker, who were evangelists, hosted a religious show that was known as PTL Today that began in 1974 and had a total of 14 seasons which was stopped due to his alleged involvement in sexual abuse. The matter was highly publicized because of his religious background and also as a television personality who was well-known in his religious community as well. 

Jim resigned from the show because of the s*x scandal which was put against him by the church secretary Jessica Hahn. Not just sex scandal, but he also had felony charges against him that he tried to use as a cover-up for the scandal which later brought about conviction, imprisonment, and eventually divorce. 

Jim Bakker’s partner Tammy, who divorced him while he was in prison, was also hosting the show along with him and were both once among the most famous and well-liked in the United States as televangelists. However, all this changed with the revelation of his misdeeds and related charges against him. 

After the divorce, Jim married Lori Bakker in 1992, and are together to date. Jim had two children with Tammy and adopted five children in 2002 after he married his second wife Lori. So, Jim Bakker now has two biological children but legally has seven children in total.

Is Jim Bakker Gay?

Jim Bakker’s sexuality has come under scrutiny a few times due to certain allegations against him from the members of his own church and the director of PTL. Jim had accepted that he had a sexual encounter with Jessica Hahn but denied that he ever raped her. The incident was said to have happened in a hotel room in Clearwater, Florida. He was also accused of misusing the funds he supposedly raised for overseas missions for Christians and used it for buying property instead. This ended in his imprisonment for a few years during which his then-wife filed for divorce. 

The director of PTL and PTL Club co-host John Fletcher accused him of being homosexual and bisexual which he denied under oath taken in the religious session. 

The Investigation of Jim Bakker’s Church Ministry

Bakker and his ministry came under investigation by the FCC for allegations of misusing the funds that they had collected in the name of a church mission to be conducted overseas. The report was later finalized wherein it was found that Bakker raised 350,000 US dollars and used it for paying partly for Heritage USA which was his ministry rather than using it for the purpose he claimed to his audience and followers. Not only for the purpose of expanding his ministry but also for his personal expenses and luxury were being funded by the money he raised from his followers and audience. 

The U.S Department of Justice declined to press charges against Bakker and refused to persecute him for the misuse of the funds by stating that there was not sufficient evidence available to solidify these claims. Jim used this opportunity to raise more money from his followers by claiming to have been a target by those who were unfaithful to God and were jealous of his popularity. He managed to raise enough funds and continued working for the ministry that was even exempted from paying tax until the Jessica Hahn scandal broke out in 1987. 

The Judiciary was accused of allowing politics to get involved in legal matters with the supposed reason being the Reagan Administration’s base was mostly formed by the followers of the church and the ministry. 

Jim Bakker Today

Jim Bakker is still in the news and is active in his community and on television. He is currently hosting The Jim Bakker Show which is like his previous PTL club that talked about God and his prophecies. 

The show started in 2003 and was broadcasted at Studio City Café in Missouri with his second wife Lori which continues even today. In 2020, his wife Lori announced on television that Jim suffered a stroke as a result of being busy with his show and ministry, and also having so many charges against him did not help either. 

During the covid-19 pandemic, Jim was selling colloidal silver stating it was a cure or at least to provide ease during the infection. He was later sent warnings against making such false claims about the supplements and their ability to cure the virus.