‘Ex-gay’ gospel singer Donnie McClurkin accused of sexually assaulting another man in new lawsuit

“Ex-gay” minister and gospel singer Donnie McClurkin has been accused of sexually abusing a younger man for years.

Giuseppe Corletto made the accusation in a lawsuit filed Friday in state court in New York, according to NBC News and other media outlets. McClurkin’s attorney said the claims are “categorically false.”

Corletto, who was interviewed by NBC News, was 21 when he first attended services at McClurkin’s church on Long Island in 2003. Corletto was motivated by reading McClurkin’s autobiography, in which the singer said his religious faith helped him overcome the “curse” of being gay.

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At the service, McClurkin “talked about being raped as a child, which resonated with me because that’s similar to my story,” Corletto told NBC. McClurkin claimed the abuse made him gay. Corletto met McClurkin after the event, and the two became friends. McClurkin hired Corletto as his assistant, and Corletto at first saw the other man as a mentor.

But soon McClurkin began to grope Corletto as they prayed together for Corletto to be “cured” of homosexuality, the lawsuit says. The groping also occurred during services at McClurkin’s Perfecting Faith Church, according to the suit. And Corletto further alleges that McClurkin raped him.

Corletto tried to quit his job, but McClurkin used guilt to persuade him to stay, the suit claims. Corletto finally took a position with an airline in 2008. But McClurkin continued to contact him, according to the suit, and in 2013, sexually assaulted him in a hotel room in Niagara Falls.

After that, the suit alleges, McClurkin sent Corletto an email saying, “I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty ‘old man,’ “pawning and groping a young man who is just looking for a friendship and close plutonic relationship with someone he wants looks to for help, guidance and spirituality.”

Corletto said he attempted to take his life after the incident, then returned to McClurkin’s church for a brief period. But he soon decided to cut McClurkin out of his life.

Corletto just discovered the 2013 email last year, he said. That convinced him “I didn’t make this up. I wasn’t crazy,” he told NBC. “I felt vindicated in some ways. ... He’s literally admitting to his guilt.” He said he has now embraced his sexuality and stopped trying to change it.

His lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said McClurkin “took advantage” of his client, who was “confused and had problems accepting his sexuality coupled with his religious beliefs.”

But McClurkin’s attorney, Greg Lisi, issued a statement saying, “At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto. The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over 2 decades, ago. All these allegations are contradicted by the real facts.”

McClurkin has been popular in the gospel world, winning three Grammys and the endorsement of Oprah Winfrey. But he has been controversial elsewhere.

In 2007, in his first run for president, Barack Obama featured McClurkin on a campaign tour. LGBTQ+ activists urged Obama to disinvite him, but the Obama campaign instead expanded the lineup, adding gay minister Andy Sidden.

Obama told The Advocate that McClurkin was “not vetted to the extent that people were aware of his attitudes with respect to gay and lesbians, LGBT issues — at least not vetted as well as I would have liked to see.” But Obama added that McClurkin wasn’t serving as a spokesperson or surrogate for him.

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In 2013, McClurkin was scheduled to appear at a concert in Washington, D.C., for the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. But then-Mayor Vincent Gray’s aides decided to drop McClurkin from the event because of the singer’s homophobic views. McClurkin said the city officials were using “bully tactics” and infringing on his civil rights.