Bishop Kiengei forced to apologise to Pritty Vishy for body shaming remarks
Popular preacher and church proprietor Bishop
Muthee 'Ben' Kiengei has sparked controversy after appearing to openly mock and
body shame online influencer Pritty Vishy in a recent interview at his own TV
station.
Kiengei,
whose wisecracks and personalized preaching methods have made him wildly
popular with his congregation, recently sat down with his own TV station's (JCM
TV) presenter Lizz Wangui to discuss a few topical matters before veering into
a discussion about musician Stevo Simple Boy and his former girlfriend Pritty
Vishy.
While
mimicking Simple Boy's accent and slogans, the JCM Church Founder went on to
rubbish the rapper's past relationship with Pritty Vishy, claiming that the
content creator was only riding on Stevo Simple Boy's popularity as she had no
talent of her own.
"Pritty
Vishy was preying on Stevo Simple Boy's fame. Anataka kujulikana lakini kwa
kunona. Si mrembo, hawezi kuimba...she's not pretty, let's be honest... She's
not appealing..." Kiengei says on the show.
The duo went
on to mock the pair as Kiengei dismissed Stevo Simple Boy's online catchphrases.
Soon after
the video made rounds online, Kenyans started blasting the Bishop for his
insensitive comments, terming them unacceptable and unpalatable from a man of
his societal standing.
Popular
female rapper Femi One, too, joined in the chorus of condemnation, unloading
her displeasure on Kiengei.
She wrote:
"This video done pissed me off on so many levels. This is a Bishop and on
Sunday he will most likely be preaching about how we are all created in the
likeliness of God! Na huyu host anacheka cheka nini...such an enabler. And that
Simple Boy joke...distasteful to say the least. It's high time we have an
honest conversation about the clergy men in this country!"
While taking
to her social media platforms, Pritty Vishy herself also reacted to the
unwarranted attacks, criticising the man of God for the reckless utterances,
even vowing to visit his church for a showdown.
She wrote:
"Pastor @bishopbenjcmchurch you are a hypocrite, you hide in church and
pretend to be a man of God, I thought you read the Bible? Do you know the verse
that says that we are all created in the likeness and image of God? Do you have
a wife? daughter? mother? do you know the meaning of respect?"
"Do you
respect them? What do you teach your children? What do you preach to your
church members? Do they know how stupid and ignorant you are? Why hide in
church and take the title bishop?”
She added: "You
and other hypocrites who hide in churches are the reason why we stopped
stepping into ‘the house of the Lord’ Since you did so well to remind me that I
am ugly, unattractive, and fat which all this is true coz I mean...Let's
meet in your church, stand on that altar, in front of your church members and
you should repeat all those words..."
As the drama boiled over, Bishop Kiengei, who
was formerly an ordained priest at AIPCA church before founding his own church,
JCM in Kamakis, Ruiru, Kiambu County, was compelled to issue an apology to
Pritty Vishy.
In his statement,
a remorseful Kiengei expressed his regret, promising that such an incident
would never happen again while also inviting her to his church.
"Pritty
Vishy, I am really sorry and I take this moment to highly apologise for
mentioning your name in a show where I went overboard and mentioned you in the
wrong way. Get a space in your heart to forgive me for addressing you in a
wrong way. This will never happen in the future, I take it as my mistake. Pole
my sister na karibu sana JCM Church, kanisa la watu wote,” he wrote.
Over the
years, Pritty Vishy has been forced to respond to - or ignore - internet trolls
who have consistently harassed her for her weight, fashion sense and
looks.
Back in 2022, Vishy shared a video online
where she broke down into tears as she begged people to stop body shaming and
trolling her.
She said:
"People used to call me kienyeji, and I was like if you view me as one then
let me be kienyeji pro max…Did I ask God to create me this way? No. I didn't,
if I was to choose how I would be born, I would want to look like Beyonce and
Nicki Minaj."
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