by JILLIAN CHENEY
The Gemstones represent some truths about many filthy-rich televangelists and church leaders, priming them to be a perfect parable for Christianity, for those who have ears to hear.
See if you can spot the lie: Joel Osteen has three private jets named “The Father,” “The Son,” and “The Holy Spirit”; Jim Bakker has a full amusement park on his property — complete with Bible story-themed rides; Jerry Falwell Jr., in his youth, participated in an underground fighting ring.
Of course, none of these tidbits from the lives of some of the richest evangelicals is actually true (not as far as we know, anyway). They’ve all been stolen from the lives of widower and patriarch Eli Gemstone (played by John Goodman) and his three largely incompetent children, the larger-than-life megachurch leaders at the center of HBO’s hilarious comedy-drama “The Righteous Gemstones.”
Only these details aren’t all that far off from what is known about these real-life evangelicals.
Joel Osteen has at least one multimillion-dollar home in Houston and a private jet and was the subject of bizarre news last December when $600,000 was found in the walls of his church. (In a fun instance of life imitating art, “The Righteous Gemstones” used the money-stashed-in-church-walls bit two years before this news broke.) Maybe the three planes works better as a nod to televangelist Jesse Duplantis, who had to clarify questions about his wealth in 2018: “I said I’ve had three jets, I don’t have three jets.”
Morningside USA, where Jim Bakker lives and broadcasts “The Jim Bakker Show,” has a pool, a shopping center, condos for rent, a cafe and more. And what hasn’t Jerry Falwell Jr. done? Posted a picture on his public Instagram with his pants unbuttoned, yes, and that’s likely the least harmful thing on a long list of his misbehaviors.
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