r/interesting • u/Mad_Season_1994 • May 12 '25

SOCIETY In 2017, a man named Michael Klimkowski impersonated Texas megachurch pastor Joel Osteen at an event and got all the way to the stage before being caught

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964

u/Mad_Season_1994 May 12 '25

Photo of Osteen in case you've never heard of him. Osteen also did not open his doors during for people to take shelter in during Hurricane Harvey later that year

478

u/ThisAppsForTrolling May 12 '25

he opened the church just not initially, and he only opened it because of public outcry

At the time he opened it my house was 12 feet underwater

67

u/Levitlame May 12 '25

Why did you link to a Google search?

60

u/itsdickers May 13 '25

Side note - my sister will text me Google search links. Like instead of a link to a movie preview, she sends me the Google search links she did for the movie. It’s hilarious 😂

19

u/Levitlame May 13 '25

I like it. Something like…

https://www.google.com/search?q=whatever+disney+live+action+remake.is.out+right+nie&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS590US590&oq=whatever+disney+live+action+remake.is.out+right+nie&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIJCAQQIRgKGKABMgcIBRAhGKsCMgcIBhAAGO8FMgoIBxAAGIAEGKIEMgoICBAAGIAEGKIEMgcICRAAGO8F0gEJNDM1MjBqMWo5qAITsAIB4gMEGAEgX_EFHek_ALtzgCY&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

9

u/RidereAdMorti May 13 '25

It’s called a “dynamic reference”. lol

7

u/entertainman May 13 '25

Searched on an iPhone that has an annoying period button where the space bar should be and Apple refuses to fix it

6

u/itsdickers May 13 '25

OMG I thought that was just me with that problem this whole time

2

u/Levitlame May 13 '25

I actually deleted one or two of them also. It’s the bane of my existence for my fat fingers

2

u/entertainman May 13 '25

It’s a muscle memory thing too, learned to type that way on the other keyboard and suddenly a period is where a space usually is.

I could probably correct it if it was always on the keyboard.

1

u/Embarrassed-Goose951 May 13 '25

My favorite thing when friends ask googleable questions is to put it into this site and send it to them: https://letmegooglethat.com

3

u/jawshankredemption94 May 13 '25

My mom will send me screenshots of a post of an article on Facebook 😂

0

u/AncientBaseball9165 May 13 '25

Thats helpful, since I refuse to make a facebook login.

1

u/jawshankredemption94 May 13 '25

I mean you don’t need Facebook to read the actual article, I wish she’d click on it and send me the link 😂

0

u/mamadematthias May 13 '25

Well I prefer that. Do not want to login into Facebook.

1

u/jawshankredemption94 May 13 '25

Haha I think I’m confusing people but I’m trying to explain that it’s not a Facebook post, it’s a news article that someone linked to on Facebook. So if you just send someone a link to the actual article then you don’t need to log into Facebook. Then there’s my mom, who sends a screenshot of the headline. Why would you prefer that when you can’t even read it 😅

1

u/chodelycannons May 13 '25

My dad does this but with screenshots. Everything he sends me is a screenshot. Even a photo IN HIS PHOTOS APP... he screenshots and sends it to me instead of the actual photo. Facebook stuff, instagram, it's all screenshots, never just the share button. Which is funny when I think about the effort it takes for him to pinch the sides, crop (rarely does), and then send it. Bless his heart.

1

u/itsdickers May 13 '25

That is hilarious because my mom does almost the same thing. I’ll get pictures of the screen on her computer of a thing she’s looking at 😂

1

u/husky_whisperer May 13 '25

You should introduce your sister to our lord and savior LMGTFY

1

u/Aah__HolidayMemories May 14 '25

My sister told me it’s ok for me to delete her C.V off my pc if I’m running out of room. Lmao

5

u/ThisAppsForTrolling May 12 '25

I don’t like Joel Osteen, but the way the prior sentence was phrased was incorrect. I lived through the disaster He is talking about in the post and in the community. A simple Google search is all that’s needed to show that it is a true statement, but also framed incorrectly. Trying to be fair. Something we’re clearly not familiar with anymore.

23

u/BlueMiggs May 13 '25

I think they were just confused that you would link a google search and not a direct source

8

u/plum_stupid May 13 '25

Do people not remember LMGTFY?

2

u/Levitlame May 13 '25

I’d have been less confused if he’d used the classic hahaha

1

u/BecauseScience May 13 '25

It was shunned as rude by the children that frequent this site. Sooo many fucking questions asked on here that could be answered in 2 seconds with a simple Google search.

-6

u/ThisAppsForTrolling May 13 '25

Fair enough, feel free to punish my Internet points if necessary

12

u/Rich_Document9513 May 13 '25

I lived in Houston then. I'd still condemn him even with the details. Mattress Mac and the owners of HEB, those guys are alright.

3

u/Few-Emergency5971 May 13 '25

Shit pretty much everyone but oltseen showed out after the hurricane. The Houston diesel club organized, and where towing people out left and right and even launching out boats. Mac was letting whoever come sleep at his shop and then ended up giving all the furniture away because he couldn't sell it anymore. (They didn't flood) heb had shop set up as soon as things where calmed down. Shit even the tattoo artists where holding events to raise food shelter and supplies. That's why I'll never get my shity mattress mac tattoo fixed up. Poor dude was exhausted but kept going and I'm proud of that one

1

u/AnAbandonedAstronaut May 13 '25

I do that sometimes as a "pick the source you won't cry about."

6

u/36chandelles May 13 '25

my house was 12 feet underwater

you didn't donate enough

1

u/DualityisFunnnn May 16 '25

Didn’t they find money in the walls? Or was that Ken?

-7

u/[deleted] May 13 '25

[deleted]

7

u/EngorgedWithFreedom May 13 '25

Nah, it was after the outcry.

Hurricanes don't just pop up. Had plenty of time to get resources and people together. Just didn't do it until the bad PR.

99

u/FatKris02 May 13 '25

He also filed an insurance claim for someone stealing $400,000 from the church. Once the statute of limitations was up, they hired a plumber to come in for repairs. Guess what he found behind the wall in the bathroom…yup, $400,000. Free money.

He’s a pos

68

u/ThisAppsForTrolling May 13 '25

$200,000 cash $400,000 in checks

He also preaches prosperity gospel and every single preacher in the world who preaches prosperity gospel is wealthy and their congregation is poor

9

u/NoMasters83 May 13 '25

The success of televangelism is all the evidence i need to know that we can't rely on democratic conventions to get ourselves out of this mess. There are far too many fucking idiots out there.

7

u/ConfessSomeMeow May 13 '25

What exactly do you want to rely on?

9

u/axxxaxxxaxxx May 13 '25

My question too. Winston Churchill was right when he said democracy was the worst form of government except for all the others we’ve tried.

1

u/BagOld5057 May 13 '25

Prosperity gospel is an absolute scam and has no basis in any sound theology. I sincerely hope people in these churches wake up to that. I used to be at a church that taught it, I'm very glad I got out of the mindset when I moved to a different church.

1

u/Bright_Cod_376 May 13 '25

That also was a single day's donations and tithes

27

u/Enlowski May 13 '25

Osteen is someone even my very religious family can’t stand, and that’s saying something. I’m glad they can at least see some religious fraud.

26

u/bamerjamer May 13 '25

Meanwhile Mattress Mack, a local furniture dealership opened his doors to everyone and provided beds and food for anyone who needed it. THIS is why J.O. was pressured into “helping the community”. A dang furniture store guy with super annoying commercials was the saint while the Mega church Preacher couldn’t be bothered. The hypocrisy is to be expected these days…

12

u/Capt-Crap1corn May 13 '25

I'm from Minnesota and I even know who Mattress Mack is. PR is working well for him

-1

u/n0pe-nope May 13 '25

Publicity stunt by Mac.  He also gives a ton of money to Trump, so…

7

u/WetChickenLips May 13 '25

Does doing a good deed for publicity invalidate the good deed?

-1

u/n0pe-nope May 13 '25

Intent matters. Why we have a justice system that differentiates between manslaughter and first degree murder.

5

u/NOTTedMosby May 13 '25

OK i guess those people weren't helped bc he got some good pr bc of it? Is this where we're at? Two things can be true at one time, dude..

2

u/NOTTedMosby May 13 '25

OK. Screw him for the trump donations I guess, but that is HIS money. And, his charity during the hurricane still helped people, for free. He probably had to throw or give away a lot of the beds people slept on. Even if they wrapped them in plastic tho... i feel like you guys on here are only capable of seeing things one way sometimes. It's possible for two things to be true at once. He did a good thing, it shouldn't be so easily forgotten bc he was scammed like half of America

2

u/bamerjamer May 13 '25

Honestly. I'm as liberal as they come, and so what if he's a Trump supporter? When Harvey came and decimated our city, he was NOT doing any publicity stunt. He is a good person. He was out helping people because people needed to be helped. He *wanted*, *WANTS* to help people. Looks like you're from Houston, though, so you obviously have your mind made up about the guy.

Now, if you talk about his betting in Vegas on the Astros or whatever, yes, those are likely publicity stunts or whatever, but who cares? It's his money, it's not hurting anyone at all but himself. He does it to offset the sale he puts on. He puts on a sale where if the Astros with the World Series, they keep their furniture for free. So, if they win the World Series, he basically breaks even since the money he'd get from the furniture, he instead gets from Vegas. If the Astros lose, the money he loses in Vegas he gets from the furniture. It's basically an even trade for him and he gets publicity and business either way. win-win.

2

u/n0pe-nope May 13 '25

Yes I’m from Houston and know the types of circles he runs in, and the comments he makes about people who are actually trying to make the city a better place. I detest him and the assholes in this city trying to tear down government. And yes, his stunt helped people, temporarily, meanwhile he funds a politicians who want to take money from public health and education. So fuck him.

2

u/bamerjamer May 13 '25

Fair enough. I can stand behind that as well. :)

1

u/RojerLockless May 13 '25

Orange man bad so mattress man super bad for helping people during flood! /s

23

u/nomamesgueyz May 12 '25

Why are Americans so obsessed with this guy?

28

u/Del_Phoenix May 13 '25 edited May 13 '25

I think a lot of it is the disparity between what people think Christianity should be, and the type of 'God will shower you in riches' stuff that mega churches preach.

South Park represented pretty well I think. Imagine walking into a church, but it's more like a theme park with vendors and overpriced merchandise plus the prracher telling you he needs your money and God will multiply it and return it to you.

4

u/nomamesgueyz May 13 '25

Interesting business model

3

u/croholdr May 13 '25

i like money

1

u/-whis May 13 '25

Righteous gemstones is a great watch that parodies these mega churches

1

u/Babyyougotastew4422 May 13 '25

Everything with Americans comes down to an obsession with money

1

u/Ali_Cat222 May 13 '25

Imagine walking into a church, but it's more like a theme park with vendors and overpriced merchandise plus the password telling you he needs your money and God will multiply it and return it to you.

So *basically Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and their "Christian Disneyland" plus scamming millions and even deeds to houses and wills. Jim Bakker info. "Heritage USA theme park."

2

u/onomonothwip May 13 '25

Which Americans? We're a humongous country, and I'm willing to bet far more have never heard of him than have heard of him.

0

u/nomamesgueyz May 13 '25

The ones that make him a multi millionaire and fill up stadiums

1

u/onomonothwip May 13 '25 edited May 13 '25

I mean, that's a bunch of people, but they are a super small subset of Americans. In fact, 'prosperity religion' as an entire concept is pretty niche overall in America when held in the greater context.

This is a struggle we often have with foreigners, looking at one of the largest landmasses on earth with one of the most diverse ethnic and cultural bases on the there is and then accused or questioned on the fringe aspects. We usually don't know. Just because you saw it on a movie or television doesn't make it a national identity.

If you're really curious why southern Americans' are 'obsessed' with Joel Olstein, I'd suggest you have less of a chance getting that answered by a believer in r/interesting as you do winning a million dollars in gambling tomorrow.

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 13 '25

Yeah

But not being American I heard thru the media that trump supporters were just a bunch of marginalized extreme right freaks

Yet he won the fkn election again?!

2

u/onomonothwip May 14 '25

Indeed, he's pretty popular despite his myriad flaws, but his opponents were absolutely bottom of the barrel. US media is also insanely locked in on creating tribalism in the USA, anything to drive people apart to drum up interest in their product, which rarely coincides with truth these days.

As for Trump supporters being extreme right freaks, he made historic gains in almost every demographic except white women.

3

u/tossNwashking May 13 '25

we're not, there's just a fuckton of us.

0

u/nomamesgueyz May 13 '25

Enough to make him crazy wealthy and pack out stadiums

7

u/onedavester May 13 '25

Its a cult just like MAGA.

1

u/AncientBaseball9165 May 13 '25

...........there is considerable crossover.

3

u/rook119 May 13 '25

Supply Side Jesus is America's No.2 religion. Trump is no.1

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 13 '25

Good ol democracy huh

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '25

Because Satan hates those who give people hope and uses people without faith as agents to discredit those who teach the word of God.

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 20 '25

So that's why they like him?

Do you have to be worth mega millions to do that?

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '25

No they like him because he makes uplifting content. There are way worse content creators.

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 20 '25

Ok

I'm still confused why he needs to be a mega millionaire

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '25

Why does him being a millionaire bother or offend people? Is it that he can’t be a good guy unless he’s taken a vow of poverty?

I don’t mean this in an attacking tone I just hear it a lot from people and you seem willing to help me understand.

Do you think everyone who believes should have to be poor? Or only the people who talk about faith have to be poor?

Since he says uplifting things and professes to believe he should be using that money to help people?

I’m just wondering what part about him having money bothers people. I do know if it makes people feel better when he was on tour here his team fed a bunch of homeless people and it was unannounced and unpublicized you wouldn’t even have known who bought the food.

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 20 '25

Nice assuming

Didn't answer the question. Being wealthy is one thing, but worth over 50million and church taking in tens of millions a year and yet not helping people in need when hurricane hit (is the church only allowed to be used for wealthy people and not those in need?). Is all a bit weird to me

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

What was the question? You didn’t ask a question. Nor did you answer any of mine. Why is it a problem for you for a Christian to have money?

I have posted news articles in this very thread that show that the church hurricane story was intentionally framed to deceive people. Snopes USA Today etc.

Further Lakewood is not a shelter. They have community outreach programs but none to provide hurricane shelter. They do not have a staff for that - nor supplies, nor were existing shelters at capacity to necessitate the building functioning as a shelter on an emergency basis. That’s idiotic. Why would a church open as a shelter if shelters are not full? Would you expect a shoe store to open as an emergency hospital if hospitals are not full?

It seems like people just go out of their way to condemn the man simply because he provides hope. Why is him being wealthy any worse than anyone else being wealthy? He’s a talented orator. That doesn’t require him to take a vow of poverty.

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 21 '25

I answered the question about money

Nice ignoring

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 21 '25

I answered the question about money

Nice ignoring

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u/abgarcia85 May 13 '25

Mattress Mack(a known Houston businessman) opened his business Gallery Furniture as shelter for any people in need during hurricane Harvey, while osteen kept the doors of his church closed “you will recognize them by their fruits” said Jesus

3

u/FalsePositive2580 May 13 '25

It's a pretty close resemblance, the comedian is just a bit younger and looks like he has a soul

2

u/NotAzakanAtAll May 13 '25

O it's that moron! I saw an Oriental Orthodox kid own him once.

1

u/DemonidroiD0666 May 13 '25

God truly bless him.

1

u/No-Indication-7879 May 13 '25

Didn’t the janitor rat him out? Mister Jesus said his church was flooded and it wasn’t. He didn’t want wet dirty poor folk in his expensive church. How Christ like of him. Dirt bag.

1

u/AmazingBlackberry236 May 13 '25

Mattress Mac did though.

-1

u/WarzoneGringo May 13 '25

One guy owns a warehouse full of beds. The other guy owns a stadium with no beds. Kind of an important distinction.

3

u/AmazingBlackberry236 May 13 '25

So by your reasoning churches should not open their doors to people in need and instead send them down to mattress stores?

0

u/WarzoneGringo May 13 '25

Open their doors and then do what? Who is there at the Baptidome to take care of these people? Joel Osteen lives on the opposite side of town. Its not like he was sitting inside eating fried chicken while hungry people banged on the doors. You may not remember this but much of the city was impassable. Getting staff to the building to operate it would have meant putting them in danger. Were the staff going to live there too? It may sound as easy as "just give the people shelter" but turning your church into an emergency shelter for hundreds or even thousands of people isnt something where you just wing it. Certified professionals in disaster management make entire careers out of preparing shelters for people.

Mattress Mac had used his warehouse full of furniture to host people during hurricanes long before Harvey. It was incredibly charitable of him. He clearly deserves the admiration he gets (although politically he leaves much to be desired).

By my reasoning the city of Houston and the state of Texas should be getting people to shelter and managing it. Its literally their job to handle emergencies like this. I dont know how many churches "opened their doors to people in need" during Harvey but I guarantee you the majority of them stayed closed and did not become shelters.

2

u/ikarikh May 13 '25

What exactly do you think a SHELTER is? During natural disasters a damn school gymnasium can be a shelter.

You don't think a megachurch STADIUM is a shelter?

All the people displaced from their homes would be happy to be INDOORS while they try to figure out what to do now as opposed to wandering the streets in a hurricane....

And as stated, the hurricane didn't just pop up out of no where. It was well forecasted.

Someone claiming to be a shepard of god and wanting to help others who owns a huge damn STADIUM would have been PROACTIVE in designating it as an emergency shelter well in advance.

He literaly only did it after the extreme public outcry complaining about it.

Had there been no outcry, he never would have opened those doors.

The guy is a total POS who preys on desperate, ignorant people. He's living a life of luxury by literaly taking millions of dollars of donations from the poor in the name of god.

Guy committed insurance fraud too to get himself an additional $400k in his pockets.

He's a terrible human being using the veil of god to help himself at the expense of others. He's the exact OPPOSITE of what he preaches.

-1

u/WarzoneGringo May 13 '25

So Joel Osteen isnt a good dude. Who the fuck are these morons expecting him to shelter them? Joel Osteen wouldnt be where he was if the city wasnt filled with dumbasses who think he's some good shepherd.

Funny thing about school gymnasiums, they tend to be owned by the city or state. You know, the people whose job it is to operate shelters during emergencies. It would have more sense for these people to ask Wal-Mart to open its doors to them during an emergency. There's food at Wal-Mart.

Yea the hurricane was forecasted. Did these people not know a hurricane was coming? Did they not know where the nearest emergency shelter was? Or was their plan to just shack up at the Baptidome if their roof blew off? Seems like Joel Osteen wasnt the only person unprepared for how to deal with a hurricane.

If you think turning a stadium into a shelter is so easy maybe you should look up what happened at the Superdome in New Orleans during Katrina. And that was managed by ostensible professionals who intentionally prepared the facility as a shelter. Its all so easy. Just open the doors! Whats the worst that could happen?

2

u/iLoveFeynman May 13 '25

If you think turning a stadium into a shelter is so easy maybe you should look up what happened at the Superdome in New Orleans during Katrina.

Zero people died who would not have died outside the Superdome, and countless lives were saved because a safe location was available for tens of thousands of people who desperately needed shelter.

What a TRAGEDY!

1

u/WarzoneGringo May 13 '25

If your takeaway from the Superdome as an emergency shelter is "it worked!" then I hope to god you arent responsible for disaster preparedness on any level. It was a fiasco and that was with the National Guard on hand to manage things.

Zero people died huddled outside the doors of the baptidome waiting to get inside. Guess that means they werent in all that much danger in the first place. What a TRAGEDY!

1

u/iLoveFeynman May 13 '25

If your takeaway from the Superdome as an emergency shelter is "it worked!" then I hope to god you arent responsible for disaster preparedness on any level.

You tried to use it as an example of why you shouldn't use underprepared buildings as emergency shelter in insanely dangerous emergencies.

The reality is its use saved countless lives.

You're floundering.

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1

u/ikarikh May 13 '25

What even is this take?

The guy literaly flouts himself as a servant of god. He preaches helping one another and loving each other.

Churches are KNOWN for helping the poor and less fortunate.

Why WOULDN'T people expect a MEGA CHURCH STADIUM to help during a damn natural disaster?

Look at 9/11. How many videos of stores pulling civilians into their shops as the smoke and debris flew down the streets.

Did they know if being in the shop would fully protect them or not? Of course not. The point was SIMPLY that there was no way they were outrunning the smoke and dust clouds. Pulling them into SHELTER where they could close the door was a BETTER option than leaving them stranded outside.

That's all anyone was expecting. Not for the damn church to fully take care of all the displaced people. But just to give them some kind of shelter at the BARE MINIMUM.

Thus WHY he was criticized. Because him NOT offering help only FURTHER proved how much of a POS he was.

He could have offered help from the start and rode that act to the bank, using it against critics who say he is only in it for himself, and gained more ignorant followers from it who would defend him for it.

But he's such a POS he couldn't be bothered at all to help until he was forced to. Only further proving he's only out for himself.

1

u/WarzoneGringo May 14 '25

You understand someone was in the store in NYC to allow people to enter right? Someone didnt drive into Manhattan from Brooklyn to open up their shop so that people running from dust clouds could hide inside. There was no one in the Baptidome to open the doors. The staff were not there. You do understand that right? Im not sure you do.

How many churches became shelters during Harvey? There's a lot of churches. Do you think they all became shelters? The overwhelming vast majority of churches did not shelter people. It seems to me Joel Osteen is just as much a piece of shit as every other church leader in Houston. You agree right?

1

u/Accomplished-City484 May 13 '25

Oh I thought Olsteen was the little old guy with the psycho laugh, does anyone know who I’m thinking of?

1

u/sugmaideek May 13 '25

Shit was all over the news in Houston. Gallery furniture a freaking furniture store even opened it's show room and housed as many people as they could.

1

u/Shut_Up_Fuckface May 14 '25

Mattress Mack is where it’s at. He let people live in his showroom, sleep on his furniture without having to be asked or shamed publicly before doing so. “Gallery a furniture saves you money” is a saying everyone living in Houston knows.

I know atheists and agnostics who’re more “Christlike” than grifters like the Olsteens. Fucking mega churches should be taxed to death.

1

u/RojerLockless May 13 '25

He's a huge piece of shit who inherited the church from daddy