(OPINION) Thaddeus Matthews, pastor of Naked Truth Liberation and Empowerment Ministries in Memphis, Tennessee, known popularly as the “Cussing Pastor,” has gone viral again for dishing out a profanity-laced rebuke to comedian D.L. Hughley for accusing him of swearing in the pulpit.
Matthews, who defended hosting a twerking contest at his church in 2019, challenged Hughley during a call on his YouTube show on April 25 to provide evidence showing him swearing during his sermons.
The call came after Hughley’s social media team asked his more than 3 million followers on Facebook whether it was appropriate for Matthews to swear in his church.
“A video has gone viral of a pastor using profanity in church to get his point across. Do you think this is an appropriate way to connect with his congregation or out of pocket?” the post asked along with an image of Matthews.
The pastor, who explained that he had always respected Hughley for his commentary more than his skills as a comedian, said he was livid when someone from Hollywood sent him the post.
“Now let me say this: I had respected D.L. Hughley, not because of his comedic abilities — because comically, D.L. Hughley is not funny to me at all. He’s a so-so comedian, as far as I think about it.
But first of all, D.L., you make a post about I cussed in the pulpit. Mother—, you a [expletive] lie,” Matthews said on his show prior to confronting Hughley on a call.
“There is no viral or any video of me preaching and cussing. For the last three years, I’ve been doing my Sunday morning right here where I’m sitting — virtually. And those that watch me on Sunday mornings would tell you I don’t cuss on Sunday mornings,” he explained.
“I make a post, but I don’t preach and cuss. Not that I find anything wrong with the words. Words are just words. And simple [expletive], you don’t know the difference in cussing and cursing.
When you say that I curse, you are saying that I am dealing in witchcraft. The curse and cussing is different. I don’t apologize for cussing. I’m not putting a spell on anyone,” he added before claiming that Jesus was also a “cusser” like him, but he just used different words.
“See what you don’t understand, and many so-called preachers is, Jesus was a cusser. See, in Jesus’ day, they didn’t have words like mother—,” he said.
Matthews compared his use of the word mother— to late comedian Bernie Mac, who used it “as well as I could.”
He accused Hughley of slander before eventually making a call to Hughley, who appeared to have been caught off-guard by Matthews.
“Are you serious right now?” Hughley asked after Matthews asked him why he made the Facebook post.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“Because you’re cussing in the church and it was news,” Hughley told him.
“Wait a minute, don’t you cuss on stage?” Matthews shot back.
Hughley tried to explain that he wasn’t passing judgment on whether he cussed or not and that the post was only intended to spark a discussion. When Matthews insisted that the comedian had erroneously claimed that he swore while he preached, Hughley tried to clarify his statement with a bit of disdain.
“Hey man, let’s be clear, … I don’t have a judgment on whether you curse or not, I couldn’t care less about that. I think most pastors are full of s—. I don’t care if you curse or not. I asked a question to an audience. I don’t have a judgment. … I’m not a Bible-thumper. I couldn’t care less,” he insisted.
