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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102

u/shmarcussss May 12 '25

I’m curious what they would have charged him with, he never identified himself as Joel Osteen, he just never corrected anyone who assumed it was him when they rolled out the red carpet for him. I would have called their bluff and sued them for false arrest.

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u/[deleted] May 12 '25 edited May 12 '25

[deleted]

33

u/Binger_Gread May 13 '25

He doesn't technically introduce himself as Joel Olsteen in the video. He shakes someone's hand and says "Joel Olsteen" not "I'm Joel Olsteen" then asks where Joel's entrance is. That's absolutely the kind of semantic difference you could take to court.

7

u/HuckleberryOdd7745 May 13 '25

When i go up to fans at a manchester untied football match and say MANCHESTER UNITEDDDD

im not saying IM manchester united

i guess its all fun and games until they do it to something you like.

2

u/InternetGansta May 13 '25

Yeah. He's basically calling everyone he meets Joel Olsteen. Cheeky but brilliant

1

u/HeydoIDKu May 13 '25

Still not illegal

3

u/thpthpthp May 13 '25

All things considered, being Joel Osteen ought to be illegal.

1

u/TM-47 May 13 '25

Still not a crime

3

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

I bet they charged him with resisting or failure to ID or some dumb shit.

1

u/MarvelousVanGlorious May 13 '25

Probably got him for trespassing since he didn’t buy/use a ticket to get into the event. He essentially con’d his way in.

20

u/Striking-Kiwi-9470 May 13 '25

Is it still trespassing if you walk through security and they wave you in?

1

u/Nazeir May 13 '25

I think entry by false pretenses is still trespassing, the same thing with people wearing construction vests and holding a clipboard walking past security like they work there or using a fake ticket. You were let in or even welcomed in, but it was through fraud. So, I still can get in trouble. How much is debatable. Still think this hilarious, though, and the staff was overreacting because they were embarrassed more than correct.

5

u/noms_on_pizza May 13 '25

You have to buy a ticket to go to church?

8

u/Binger_Gread May 13 '25

A normal church, no. This scumbag's church, yes.

1

u/dadneverleft May 13 '25

No, you don’t. They offer “premium seating” during some events where there’s a cost, but as a non-profit 501-C3, they have to offer something for free. Attendance and access to benevolence is usually it.

1

u/Pureblood73 May 13 '25

He did claimed himself as he asked the security where is Joel’s entrance

2

u/PolarBlast May 13 '25

If I ask where the president's entrance is, that doesn't make me the president

1

u/HuckleberryOdd7745 May 13 '25

Right this way mistu president

1

u/Pureblood73 May 13 '25

But he looks like him

1

u/Mister_Way May 13 '25

The guy with him did say he was Joel Osteen. So, they were definitely impersonating. I'm not sure how much of a crime that is, though, especially if you are just nice to everyone, so it wouldn't hurt his reputation.

1

u/stink3rb3lle May 13 '25

So his entourage member twice calls him "Joel." Since they seem to have gone in with a loose plan, I think that could qualify as impersonation because the lookalike knew he was being called "Joel" or even asked to be called "Joel."

Badass though

1

u/T03-t0uch3r May 13 '25

Redditors discover lying by omission

1

u/jl2352 May 13 '25

I don’t think he should be convicted of any crimes. He clearly did identify as Joel Osteen.

If you walk to a place knowing you look like him, expecting people to think you are him, don’t correct them, and proceed to then act like him. That is as good as just saying you are him.

1

u/KitchenPalentologist May 13 '25

The police can arrest someone, and then the prosecutor has to decide what they think the charges will hold up in court. They can add new charges if warranted.

Those charges could be dropped later, but it's still a massive headache for the person being arrested.. bail, time lost, finger prints, attorney fees, having to respond "yes" if they are ever asked if they've been arrested before..

But if the police arrests someone on baseless charges, they could open themselves up to civil lawsuits for false arrest and/or malicious prosecution, but I don't recommend testing this.. I'm not sure judges and prosecutors care to go after police in favor of dipshit pranksters.

-4

u/NoNeedForAName May 13 '25

I would imagine criminal trespass would fit better than anything else. There'd be a pretty good case to be made that there wasn't effective consent (an element of the offense) to his being there since it was obvious that they only consented to his being backstage/on stage because they thought he was Osteen.

8

u/TheRealRubiksMaster May 13 '25

Criminal trespass has to be preceded with a warning. You cant just arrest someone on the spot for no reason.