Donnie McClurkin, a Grammy-winning gospel singer and pastor, sexually abused a young man over several years and wrote an apology email declaring himself a “dirty 'old man,'” according to a new lawsuit.
Giuseppe Corletto says in the lawsuit that he was struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith when he sought out McClurkin in 2003. The lawsuit says Corletto, then 21, went to McClurkin’s church in Long Island, New York, after reading his autobiographical book, which described how God helped him overcome the “curse” of homosexuality.
At the church event, McClurkin “talked about being raped as a child, which resonated with me because that’s similar to my story,” Corletto said in an interview with NBC News.
He said he was brought to meet with McClurkin after the event, and the man took an immediate interest in him.
“At first it was all very innocent and what I thought [was] mentoring,” Corletto said in the interview.
But he now believes he was being groomed from the start.
McClurkin began to molest Corletto during “pray the gay away” spiritual sessions, the lawsuit says, and the abuse escalated over the next several years. During this period, Corletto worked as McClurkin’s assistant and regularly traveled with him, according to the lawsuit.
Corletto “struggled to process these incidents of sexual abuse, as [McClurkin] was both his mentor and employer, making it difficult for him to speak out about the abuse he had suffered,” the lawsuit says.
An attorney for McClurkin, now 66, said the allegations are “categorically false.”
“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” the attorney, Greg Lisi, said in a statement. “The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over 2 decades, ago. All these allegations are contradicted by the real facts.”
After an alleged sexual assault at a Niagara Falls hotel in 2013, the lawsuit says, McClurkin wrote Corletto an email apologizing for his actions.
“I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty ‘old man’,” he allegedly wrote in the message, according to the lawsuit, “pawning and groping a young man who is just looking for a friendship and close plutonic relationship with someone he wants looks to for help, guidance and spirituality.”
“I feel so foul…so stupid,” McClurkin added in the email, according to Corletto’s lawsuit, which was filed Friday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The gospel singer-turned-pastor has won three Grammy awards and sold millions of albums. His path to stardom was paved in part by Oprah Winfrey, who in 1996 declared his self-titled album as one of her favorite things.
But his childhood was brutal. McClurkin wrote in his 2001 book, "Eternal Victim-Eternal Victor," that an uncle sexually abused him when he was 8, which he believes caused his homosexuality.
“A seed had been planted,” McClurkin wrote. “A seed that would be my lot to struggle with for many years to come.”
He said in the book that reading Scripture helped him to overcome the struggle. “There are many more things that need to be done to break the curse of homosexuality; but that’s another book,” McClurkin wrote.
Corletto says when he read McClurkin’s book, he felt an immediate connection. They both grew up poor in New York. And he says that he, too, was sexually abused by a relative as a young boy.
Corletto said he went to McClurkin’s church and followed his guidance, hoping for the same outcome.
“I truly did believe he was fully delivered from homosexuality,” Corletto said in the interview. “I was doing whatever they were saying to rid myself of it.”
Corletto said he became McClurkin’s assistant in 2004 and about two years passed before McClurkin began to grope him during “pray the gay away” sessions. On work trips, the abuse escalated to rape, Corletto said in the interview and in his lawsuit.
On a trip to California in 2007, McClurkin also brought his then-girlfriend. The lawsuit says he still forced himself on Corletto and raped him in a hotel room.
When confronted about the incident, the lawsuit says, McClurkin told Corletto that he was on medication and didn’t remember anything.
“McClurkin further manipulated [Corletto], blaming him for the incident and convincing him that he was the sole culpable party,” the lawsuit says. “As a result, plaintiff experienced intense shame and confusion.”
The abuse also took place at McClurkin’s house of worship, Perfecting Faith Church, the lawsuit says. McClurkin would “secretly grope” Corletto before going to preach, causing him to cry during the service, according to the lawsuit. And McClurkin would then use his tears to “encourage other congregants to openly express emotion,” the lawsuit says.
Corletto attempted to quit his job multiple times, the lawsuit says, but McClurkin guilted him into staying.
“He would always compare me to people in the bible like Elisha and Elijah,” Corletto said, referring to the prophets who had a mentor-mentee relationship. “There was a lot of biblical manipulation.”
“I thought I was to blame,” Corletto added. “I was brainwashed to think that my deliverance was wrapped up in him.”
He finally quit in 2008 and ultimately got a job at a major airline, but McClurkin continued to pursue him, the lawsuit says.
McClurkin’s public profile grew during the period Corletto says he was preyed on. The acclaimed gospel singer performed at the Republican National Convention in 2004. And in 2007, he appeared at a gospel event organized by then-candidate Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, sparking a backlash from gay rights groups and prompting Obama to issue a public statement saying, "I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views."
Corletto said he became depressed and suicidal in the years after the Niagara Falls hotel incident in 2013. He attempted to take his life and afterward he briefly returned to McClurkin’s church.
“I thought, ‘Well, you strayed from God, so you’ve got to go back to God,’” Corletto said.
But he soon decided to leave the church and cut off all contact with McClurkin.
Corletto said it wasn’t until last year that he came across the email McClurkin sent after the night in Niagara Falls.
“I know I apologized for my wrong attitude from wednesday….but I want to apologize for all of my behavior that has been wrong and put you in a wrong place,” McClurkin wrote, according to the lawsuit.
“I have no one…and i feel it more than ever…but I was horribly wrong trying to force you into something that you were consistently saying no to,” McClurkin added, according to the lawsuit. “I am too old to be like this.”
Corletto said the email, following years of emotional and spiritual turmoil, was a source of relief. “I didn’t make this up. I wasn’t crazy,” Corletto said. “I felt vindicated in some ways. ... He’s literally admitting to his guilt.”
The suit is being filed under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, which in 2022 extended the statute of limitations for plaintiffs to sue over sexual abuse allegations. The two-year window closed in March 2025, but parties have in some cases entered into what's known as "tolling agreements," which extend the statute of limitations.
Corletto’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said he hopes the lawsuit will provide his client with compensation, closure and "some measure of justice for what happened to him."
Giuffra said McClurkin “took advantage” of someone who was “confused and had problems accepting his sexuality coupled with his religious beliefs. It’s really very sad.”
Corletto said he’s now in a much better place. He’s married and no longer feels tormented.
“Ever since I did embrace my sexuality and stopped trying to change it, the weight of suicide has left me,” Corletto told NBC News.
Things are still a bit more complicated when it comes to his faith. He said he’s tried to go to church but has been unable to sit through an entire service.
“I listen to praise and worship music still, and that’s what I consider church,” Corletto added. “So, in many aspects, though I lost friends, community, my religion ... I found myself, my family, my peace.”
