What is Donnie McClurkin’s net worth? Grammy-winning gospel star’s earnings explored amid s*xual assault lawsuit

Gospel artist and pastor Donnie McClurkin is currently facing s*xual abuse allegations from his male personal assistant Giuseppe Corletto. The alleged victim has filed a civil complaint where he has claimed that McClurkin, 66, repeatedly assaulted and r*ped him between 2007 and 2015, after he joined his congregation at Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, Long Island, New York.

Not only that, but Corletto has claimed that the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter apologized to him for his actions via a 2013 email, where he confessed to “gr*ping” his staffer and called himself a “dirty old man.”

Donnie McClurkin has an estimated net worth of $5 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.

According to the lawsuit filed at a New York court on January 2 and reviewed by Billboard, Corletto was 21 when he joined McClurkin’s church in 2003. He sought guidance from the gospel artist/ pastor regarding his sexuality.

Notably, Donnie, himself, wrote in his 2001 book that he had overcome his homosexuality through God. Likewise, he reportedly helped Giuseppe “pray the gay away” and later hired him as his personal assistant.

The alleged assaults happened during this time when they frequently travelled together across the country. When the plaintiff seemingly tried to “quit,” his requests were allegedly “denied.”

“Throughout this period, plaintiff attempted to quit on multiple occasions. Defendant, however, denied plaintiff’s requests, further coercing him to stay by telling plaintiff that his ‘deliverance’ and ‘purpose’ were tied to defendant,” the suit stated.

---

All about Donnie McClurkin’s lifelong earnings

Donnie McClurkin was born and raised in Copiague, New York, in November 1959. Following years of child abuse and losing his siblings to a car accident and drug addiction, he found purpose at the church and in Christian/ gospel music.

During his teenage years, Donnie formed the youth musical group McClurkin Singers and the New York Restoration Choir. With the latter, he released three albums before moving on to pursue a solo career.

His 2014 studio album, Duets, performed well. However, it was McClurkin’s live albums that earned him gold/ platinum certifications and several awards. These include: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, The Journey, A Different Song, We All Are One, and Again.

Over the years, Donnie McClurkin has also released several compilations and music videos and collaborated with fellow artists such as Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, VaShawn Mitchell, J J Hairson, Youthful Praise, Donald Lawrence, Karen Clark Sheard, Erica Campbell, and Tye Tribbett.

His hit singles include The Prayer, Ooh Child, I Need You, I Am Amazed, and more. These have earned him several nominations and wins, including three Grammys, two BET Awards, three DOVE Awards, two Soul Train Awards, and multiple Stellar Awards.

Not only is Donnie McClurkin a multi-millionaire, but he is also one of the highest-selling gospel artists and has sold over 13 million records.

Elsewhere, he has appeared in the TV projects Girlfriends and The Parkers, as well as the 2003 movie, The Fighting Temptations. He also acted as a radio host and ran his own television program, Perfecting Your Faith, in 2009.

Besides his extensive music career spanning across four decades, a significant portion of his earnings also comes from being a full-time pastor at the Perfecting Faith Church. Before that, McClurkin became an ordained associate minister at a Detroit parish in 2001.

---

In brief, about the latest accusations against Donnie McClurkin

According to Giuseppe Corletto’s lawsuit, the first time Donnie McClurkin allegedly assaulted him was in a hotel room during a 2007 business trip to California. Similar incidents also happened during their subsequent trips to Atlantic City, New Jersey, Manhattan, Florida, Niagara Falls, and Boston, as well as his Long Island residence.

While Corletto eventually quit being his personal assistant in 2008, the alleged abuse continued, as did their professional relationship. Twelve years back, he confessed to his alleged misconduct in an email, which was included in the civil suit.

“I am the actual epitome of a desperate, dirty ‘old man’… gr*ping a young man who is just looking for a friendship and close platonic relationship with someone he looks to for help, guidance, and spirituality. You don’t have that desire for me, and I shouldn’t have it for you. I forced myself on you,” McClurkin allegedly wrote.

Now, Giuseppe Corletto is seeking an unspecified amount in compensation for sustaining years of:

“injury, emotional pain and suffering, physical pain, emotional distress, celibacy, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.”

Meanwhile, Donnie McClurkin has denied the accusations via his lawyer Greg Lisi, who has called them “categorically false” and “contradicted by the real facts” in a statement to Billboard.

“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of s*xual abuse, assault or s*xual coercion of Mr Corletto. The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over two decades ago,” Lisi stated.

In April 2021, Donnie McClurkin appeared on TV One’s Uncensored and candidly spoke about his homosexuality, which he dubbed a “perversion.” He also spoke about how he resorted to faith to suppress his urges to be with men.

“I don’t eat sugar, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t want sugar,” he explained with a comparison.

Donnie McClurkin, who has a 25-year-old son named Matthew, previously claimed that his own traumatic experience of being m*lested as a kid and early exposure to p*rnography turned him gay.

“I’ve messed up more than I’ve had good. My past relationships were a sprinkling of everything – men and women,” he said on ‘Uncensored.’

McClurkin added:

“When things get rough, I go back into my safe place – my music and my ministry. Never having a long-term relationship in my life and never being married, I chalked that up. I will probably be alone for the rest of my life as far as a mate is concerned.”

In 2016, rumors surfaced that Donnie McClurkin was engaged to fellow gospel artist Nicole C. Mullen. However, the latter wrote on social media:

“We are heading towards marriage, but we are honoring protocol 1st!”

Likewise, Donnie shared:

“Honestly, the only thing in my life that is missing is marriage… and can cause a real family is marriage. Financially, I’m there. Spiritually, I’m almost there. Emotionally, I’m getting it together. But the only thing that’s missing out of everything that I’m doing locally, cross country and globally is that aspect that makes family, family — is that wife that would make a man whole, that element that brings favor to man.”

McClurkin, who is a self-proclaimed “ex-gay” man, is an advocate against bullying and discrimination. However, in 2009, he stirred controversy when he referred to the queer community as “vampires,” especially young males who identified as gay, as “broken and feminine.” Donnie has also protested against same-sex marriages.