{
  "id": 12355960,
  "title": "Jim Bakker, televangelist disgraced by sex scandal, dies at 86",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/jim-bakker-televangelist-disgraced-by-sex-scandal-dies-at-86",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-06T09:34:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/06/jim-bakker-televangelist-disgraced-by-sex-scandal-dies-at-86"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Jim Bakker, the once prominent televangelist who built a media empire before falling from grace due to a sex scandal and financial crimes, has died at the age of 86, his wife Lori Bakker confirmed on Monday. Lori Bakker stated in a statement that her second husband had passed away that evening, expressing her heartache at losing her beloved husband and life partner. The couple co-hosted The Jim Bakker Show, a program that began in 2003. Bakker's rise to fame in the 1980s was marked by his evangelical program The PTL Club, which stood for Praise The Lord or People That Love. However, his reputation was tarnished in 1989 when he was convicted of defrauding followers who had sent him $158 million for partnerships at his Heritage USA Christian vacation park in South Carolina. Bakker's first wife, Tammy Faye Messner, left him in 1992 and became a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ community before her death from cancer in 2007.",
  "summary": "Jim Bakker rose to prominence in the 1980s, achieving fame on the evangelical TV program 'The PTL Club'.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Disgraced US televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/disgraced-us-televangelist-jim-bakker-dies-at-86",
        "published": "2026-10-06T06:30:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News",
        "title": "Where is Jessica Hahn now? Jim Bakker's death puts spotlight on old sex scandal that brought down PTL televangelist - latest update",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/where-is-jessica-hahn-now-jim-bakkers-death-puts-spotlight-on-old-sex",
        "published": "2026-10-06T06:32:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Jim Bakker, TV preacher felled by scandals, dies at 86",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/jim-bakker-tv-preacher-felled-by-scandals-dies-at-86",
        "published": "2026-10-06T06:38:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Jim Bakker, televangelist mired in scandals, dies at 86",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/jim-bakker-televangelist-mired-in-scandals-dies-at-86",
        "published": "2026-10-06T08:37:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian US",
        "title": "US televangelist Jim Bakker, ensnared in fraud and sex scandal, dies at 86",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/us-televangelist-jim-bakker-ensnared-in-fraud-and-sex-scandal-dies-at",
        "published": "2026-10-06T08:55:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Jim Bakker, televangelist disgraced by sex scandal, dies at 86",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/jim-bakker-televangelist-disgraced-by-sex-scandal-dies-at-86-12356789",
        "published": "2026-10-06T09:34:46.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Jim Bakker dies at 86: Televangelist lost his multi-million empire to sex scandal, crimes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/jim-bakker-dies-at-86-televangelist-lost-his-multi-million-empire-to",
        "published": "2026-10-06T10:10:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}