BREAKING: Bishop George Bloomer Awarded $62.2 Million in Racial Discrimination Case Against The Word Network

By Dennis Byron | Hip Hop Enquirer
October 15, 2026

A Michigan federal jury has awarded Bishop George Bloomer $62.2 million in a racial discrimination case involving The Word Network and its owner, Kevin Adell, following a dispute centered on a degrading meme depicting Adell as a pimp surrounded by Black ministers.

The verdict was returned Wednesday, October 14. According to Law360, jurors found that the white religious television network owner subjected the Black televangelist to racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Bloomer’s lawsuit named Adell, The Word Network Operating Company and Church of the Word as defendants. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the case challenged conduct Bloomer said damaged his professional relationship with the broadcaster.

The court’s pretrial account traces the dispute to September 2019, when Adell showed Bloomer a digitally altered image portraying the network owner in a white fur coat near a limousine, surrounded by smaller depictions of Black preachers, including Bloomer.

Bloomer objected that the image was racist. According to the court’s account of text messages and testimony, Adell subsequently continued sending images and referring to Bloomer as “Tattoo,” the character from Fantasy Island, despite Bloomer’s repeated objections.

The allegations extended beyond offensive messages. The court recounted testimony that Adell considered taking away Bloomer’s airtime after receiving his complaints and referred to restricting that airtime as “the whip.” Bloomer alleged that the treatment ultimately forced him to leave the network. The defendants disputed portions of his account.

Their broadcasting relationship stretched back years. Bloomer initially purchased airtime for his program, Spiritual Authority, and later became host of Rejoice in the Word. Court records describe an arrangement allowing him to broadcast his own show without paying for airtime while hosting the network-produced program. His lawsuit also raised disputes over compensation and commissions.

Wednesday’s award places a substantial financial consequence on a case involving the treatment of a Black minister by a network identified in court records as a major broadcaster of African American religious programming.

The reported award totals $62.2 million. Hip Hop Enquirer has not independently reviewed the jury’s verdict form, and the allocation of damages among claims and defendants has not been confirmed for this report. A post-verdict response from Adell or the network was also not available in the materials reviewed.