A Missouri man claiming that he was delivered from homosexuality at the Church of God in Christ convocation is responding to criticisms about the video that has become a viral sensation. Andrew Caldwell responded to allegations that his conversion was a scam or publicity stunt telling WMC Action News 5 that the conversion wasn’t a setup and that he hadn’t made any money from the video.
READ: Everything wrong with the ‘gay deliverance’ video
In the original video taken at the COGIC’s annual convocation, the 21-year-old Caldwell emphatically announces, “I’m not gay no more. I am delivered!”
The church’s bishop is then seen telling the congregation, “You all praise God with him. Now either you’re going to believe this stuff or you’re going to stop preaching it! If you can’t praise God with him, you’re an unbeliever.”
Caldwell’s claims of a conversion, however, have drawn criticism from the gay community, as well as others. Reports have surfaced that the man was arrested for fraudulent insurance in May, and an internet radio host questioned Caldwell’s claims of attending an online medical school.
Will Batts of the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community center said, “Every reputable scientific study on this experience says you cannot change someone’s orientation.” A local internet radio host, Thaddeus Mathews, said after interviewing Caldwell on Tuesday that he concludes the man is “a con artist, he’s a scam artist.”