Commenters react to viral photo of televangelist’s lavish mansion: ‘He would be a … great villain in a movie’
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Televangelist Kenneth Copeland has caught a lot of heat over his luxurious lifestyle. In a post in the subreddit r/pics, someone shared a photo of his mansion with the caption: “The humble home of pastor Kenneth Copeland, next to his private airport.” Unsurprisingly, people are shocked, expressing bold sentiments about the excess of it all.
Copeland, who owns a fleet of at least three private jets, revealed in 2018 that he had purchased one from Tyler Perry, saying to Inside Edition, “He made that airplane so cheap for me, I couldn’t help but buy it.”
On an Instagram repost of the interview, one commenter said, “He would be a hell of a great villain in a movie.”
In response to criticism, Copeland insisted to Inside Edition his private jets are necessary for his work as a pastor. “If I flew commercial, I’d have to stop 65% of what I’m doing, that’s the main reason.”
Critics argue that the millions spent on Copeland’s mansion, jets, and private airport could have gone toward church-related and community causes instead. Copeland’s sprawling 18,000-square-foot mansion has six bedrooms and six bathrooms. The mansion also qualified for a tax break of 100%, since it’s considered a “clergy residence.”
A house this size uses significantly more energy than a traditional-sized home, making its carbon footprint much larger. That additional energy contributes to planet-warming polluting gases expelled into the air. Private jets also produce a high amount of harmful carbon pollution — according to the European Federation for Transport and Environment, private jets are five to 14 times more polluting per passenger than commercial flights.
Considering Copeland and his wife, Gloria, are the only residents, downsizing would significantly reduce their home’s energy use. Flying commercial instead of private would also reduce his carbon footprint.
“Anyone I know with a house over like 8k square feet or so uses it as much for hosting events and people as they use it for a house. Then only really lives in a fairly small corner of it,” pointed out one commenter. “That’s enough room for a lot of homeless folks,” added another.
One person summed up the general consensus of reactions to the post pretty succinctly, saying, “That’s uncalled for.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/kenneth-copeland-mansion-private-airport/.
