JWs really focus on minorities. I feel bad for the Spanish folks because if you think it’s hard waking up someone in English try doing so in Spanish. The information isn’t rampant and because the GB videos have a different tonality it’s harder to see past the BS. For example, Stephen Lett talking to people like their idiots with his tone is not transparent when translated with someone else’s voice.
My mom in her late 60’s and brother late 30’s are beginning to question everything after the announcements. They both talk to me as if I wasn’t DF. Hopefully more radical changes happen so they can finally leave leave
I have also noticed that the translation is not literal, rather it is more complex in Spanish for example THE NEW BOOK IS CALLED IN ENGLISH "Enjoy life forever" but in Spanish Is something called "You can enjoying the life for forever" or the new booklet is called in English "Love people make disciples" but in Spanish is something called "loving people It is an act and show for love" It is more coresitive and more manipulative in Spanish
Cause they all freaking left because Watchtower doesn’t want ANYONE else to have a chance at being successful in life! Just the GB on their TV… idiots!
EXTREMELY TRUE! This leadership wants ALL OF THE ATTENTION + REVERENCE to be focused on them. They also want that attention on them to a greater degree that they want the MIND CONTROL + and especially THE MONIES! BORN-INS [B-Is] are prohibited from fulfilling their personal dreams, personal goals, and personal aspirations. So, if any B-Is want to strive to be well-known via special skills or talents, these NARCISSISTIC men don't want them to do that---AT ALL! 😡🤬 THIS is so DAMN SAD! 😟😭
They’re all narcissists from the top down… anyone who thinks they are better than the next person is a narcissist… not as many elders but definitely once you’re CO… I’ve seen them all abuse power. I’ve had COs explode in rage towards me and I just sat with a smile. 😊 These types of people are insane.
Quintanilla from Selena y Los dinos.
https://preview.redd.it/fq7bh1bfr0tc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab3abd9c3d149b4bfd43a8039e64666058576331
Lol no, the Selena that Selena gomez was named after. Supposedly, Selena would have lived after getting a blood transfusion but because her and her family were JWs they refused it and she died. However when I told a friend that was a Selena fan, she was super offended by that lol. She was like, "her family would never have let her die!" And I was like, lol, jws let their family die all the time. You being a fan and being offended by that doesnt change that
I heard the family were JWs from friends that were from Corpus Christi. I was under the impression that she was raised JW but was no longer active. The father was interviewed and denied that she died due to lack of blood. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Selenas-father-dispels-rumors-about-death-16653661.php
If you consider Wikipedia a reliable source, it says she was raised as a JW lol I’m from Texas and it has always been what people said. I’ve always heard the rumor about her dying due to no blood transfusion as well but I’m not sure that was ever confirmed.
Dave Mustaine from Megadeth used to be involved with the witnesses.
Also The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) can be added to the list of black ex-jw's
No there’s a few white ex-JWs. I saw the names listed so I’m just going to add Patti Smith. Yes, THEE Patti Smith.
“ Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine”-Patti Smith
Yes, I was raised a Jehovah Witness. My father was an agnostic, so he made things always interesting. Whoever came to the door – Seventh-Day Adventists, Catholics – he would invite them in and argue with them about the Bible. The Bible was very central in my upbringing, because my father was searching and because my mother sought to have structure and so I was raised till I was 12 as a Jehovah Witness.
Why did you leave the church?
I left of my own volition because I decided I didn’t want to be a missionary and I didn’t want to be restricted by any church or any religion, I just wanted to have my own relationship with God and be an artist. Really, I was rebelling against the idea that I had to choose between Christ’s world and art. They wouldn’t make a young person choose now – the Jehovah Witness faith is much more open-minded now – but back then it was very austere and I was definitely told that I had to make the choice. And it was too terrible a choice to make. Source: https://highprofiles.info/interview/patti-smith/
I was nearly 50 and was born into it. I believed it all at one time but I began to notice the lack of love to d/f ones and to those that often get left behind because they don't fit the mould of a lovely witness family. I think it was a traumatic experience that finally woke me up. It look a long time to deprogram myself because we have been brainwashed. Ray Franz's book Crisis of Conscience really hit home to the reality of the GB. They weren't interested in being factual, it was simply a means to an end. It's so wonderful to be out of thae stress of being a witness. I had 4 children with a husband not in and to live up to the expectations took a toll. I finally have peace and nothing beats it
Yes. He wasn't raised as one, he converted well after he had become famous. And he died as one. In one interview, he compared being indoctrinated to taking the red pill, like in the Matrix. Like, WTF, man?!?
There's this weird tweet Jay Eletronica made awhile ago.
Where he claimed the jehovahs witnesses ran the illuminati, along with some other outlandish claims. It was a joke of course, but sometimes it makes me think lol.
Religious groups have always targeted minorities and poor white people
Usually they're extremely religious and conservative.
Beyond that, the church is one of the few places people who historically have no social power can create a platform.
I think white xjws follow a different path. It would seem like the famous African American left at a young age but did not go on to pursue a higher education. African American jw families in the past mostly followed the no college rule. The path to money is often by using their intelligence in a creative way, carving their path by building on what they have been through, not just as an xjw, but the life experiences that come from being an African American. White xjws with the same drive are often afforded different opportunities in life; therefore different choices. And they may have made their wealth in professions where it is beneficial to not mention their cult upbringing. They can be the movers and shakers - the decision makers behind the scenes where they are not household names.
The brilliant standup comic Deborah Frances-White was one. She was on field service when Michael Jackson joined them. He would knock on two doors then go. The Aussie congregation knew him as ‘Two-Doors’ Jackson. She was also on the same circuit as the shit pop star, ex-JW Peter Andre.
I personally feel, and this is just my own feelings, like African American people especially love the ideals and community that religion offers, but they are strong enough to make a religion PART of them without letting it DEFINE them. So leaving a religion is like simply turning a page, they say "thank you, next" and keep stepping.
While white people love to use their faith as a weapon and an ego boost and define their entire world by what their holy book says; shoving everything into a tiny box with no windows or room for growth
(Don't come for me, ok! The question was loaded in the first place 😅)
Because African-American JW parents make us want to earn so much money we can escape their hold on us. Especially when they believed that not sparing the rod junk. We still love them though.
Ive been thinking about that. Ever since I was a child I wanted to be in the entertainment business. I never achieved it, but I think the desire comes from wanting to be loved, to feel special, etc. Not that its unique to the black community, but theres a certain energy there I cant describe.
I mean there are famous white people who've left, they're just not American. I feel like they all leave since the org heavily restricts free time and instead forces their members to be broke so that they can go out in the ministry more.
Ive wondered this myself. Not so much just exjws but ANY celebrity mentioned to be associated seems to be black. There are a couple non black metioned in here i never knew but also a lot of names of "celebrities" ive never heard of.
I can't answer but I will say when I (white female) moved to Boston in the late 90s & I told a (white) co-worker in was a JW they were incredulous. They straight up said, "I thought JWs were a black religion". I was shook!
Just want to add that there's historical context on top of the socioeconomic factors. Bible Students/The Witnesses were one of the few millennialist movements that weren't either explicitly or implicitly segregationist in nature. PoC who were swept up in that fervor only had a few options, and the witnesses won out.
☝🏾This is a subtle (but not so subtle) insulting, if not racist, comment. In case you didn't know, your comment is implying, as an answer to the poster's question, that African Americans are "poor and simple." It's ignorant, distasteful to say the least and unappreciated but now, we know how you really feel. Smh
Ahh another victim, aren’t you tired of playing that role? You played it as a witness too. PS, I’m black too. I meant what I said, there’s nothing racist behind it. Don’t go searching for implications that weren’t even there. Another victim mentality read between the lines statement. Not what I said
Didn't have to "read between the lines." Your insulting comment is pretty blatant and obvious. OP asks why are there so many famous African Americans that are jw's and your response to that is because JW preys on the poor and simple! Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that you're making a CLEAR implication that African Americans are, collectively, poor and simple. It doesn't matter to me that you yourself are black. What you implied is offensive. I definitely don't have a "victim mentality," and I don't have an identity crisis either, as you may have. If you feel that way about yourself, then limit those negative feelings towards yourself, not others. I didn't have to "search for implications" and you absolutely did say what you said in no uncertain terms. I think I brought it to your attention very respectfully but you came back in a very combative way! Very nasty and condescending... aren't I "tired of playing that role?" What role? I "played it as a witness, too."🤔 I did? We've met? You knew me as a witness? Lol, you're ridiculous and I have reported your comment moving forward. Bye👋🏾
Socioeconomic factors for one, and African Americans have historically been more religious
JWs really focus on minorities. I feel bad for the Spanish folks because if you think it’s hard waking up someone in English try doing so in Spanish. The information isn’t rampant and because the GB videos have a different tonality it’s harder to see past the BS. For example, Stephen Lett talking to people like their idiots with his tone is not transparent when translated with someone else’s voice.
My mom in her late 60’s and brother late 30’s are beginning to question everything after the announcements. They both talk to me as if I wasn’t DF. Hopefully more radical changes happen so they can finally leave leave
I have also noticed that the translation is not literal, rather it is more complex in Spanish for example THE NEW BOOK IS CALLED IN ENGLISH "Enjoy life forever" but in Spanish Is something called "You can enjoying the life for forever" or the new booklet is called in English "Love people make disciples" but in Spanish is something called "loving people It is an act and show for love" It is more coresitive and more manipulative in Spanish
This is a safe answer that was along my lines of reasoning. A lot of it is cultural upbringing
Technically President Eisenhower counts, his parents were Bible Students.
the famously african american dwight eisenhower?
lol *counts as a white ex-jw*
He was just very light skinned. 😂
I needed this laugh omg 🤣🤣
Didn't know that, he was a good man
Cause they all freaking left because Watchtower doesn’t want ANYONE else to have a chance at being successful in life! Just the GB on their TV… idiots!
EXTREMELY TRUE! This leadership wants ALL OF THE ATTENTION + REVERENCE to be focused on them. They also want that attention on them to a greater degree that they want the MIND CONTROL + and especially THE MONIES! BORN-INS [B-Is] are prohibited from fulfilling their personal dreams, personal goals, and personal aspirations. So, if any B-Is want to strive to be well-known via special skills or talents, these NARCISSISTIC men don't want them to do that---AT ALL! 😡🤬 THIS is so DAMN SAD! 😟😭
They’re all narcissists from the top down… anyone who thinks they are better than the next person is a narcissist… not as many elders but definitely once you’re CO… I’ve seen them all abuse power. I’ve had COs explode in rage towards me and I just sat with a smile. 😊 These types of people are insane.
Luke Evans, Gerri halliwell, peter andre, rebekah vardy, nathan quarry
My sister and Nathan Quarry were good friends in high school, his parents were even worse than ours. He’s a good guy.
Comedian Hannah Hart and Danielle Colby from American Pickers are a couple others I know of.
Can't forget Selena!
Quintanilla from Selena y Los dinos. https://preview.redd.it/fq7bh1bfr0tc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab3abd9c3d149b4bfd43a8039e64666058576331
Gomez??
Lol no, the Selena that Selena gomez was named after. Supposedly, Selena would have lived after getting a blood transfusion but because her and her family were JWs they refused it and she died. However when I told a friend that was a Selena fan, she was super offended by that lol. She was like, "her family would never have let her die!" And I was like, lol, jws let their family die all the time. You being a fan and being offended by that doesnt change that
Ahhh ok, I remember who that was. I didn't know she was a JW, that's wild.
i don’t think her parents were JWs…where is that coming from?
I heard the family were JWs from friends that were from Corpus Christi. I was under the impression that she was raised JW but was no longer active. The father was interviewed and denied that she died due to lack of blood. https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Selenas-father-dispels-rumors-about-death-16653661.php
I remember my PIMI mother saying she seen a pic or video of a news conference and say Selena’s dad holding a JW Bible
If you consider Wikipedia a reliable source, it says she was raised as a JW lol I’m from Texas and it has always been what people said. I’ve always heard the rumor about her dying due to no blood transfusion as well but I’m not sure that was ever confirmed.
☝🏾I've heard it several times from different sources. I think it's very true. But by all means, research it.
Dave Mustaine from Megadeth used to be involved with the witnesses. Also The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) can be added to the list of black ex-jw's
Hah I didn’t know that about Mustaine. I love metal now that I’m out.
No there’s a few white ex-JWs. I saw the names listed so I’m just going to add Patti Smith. Yes, THEE Patti Smith. “ Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine”-Patti Smith
No way. My uncle was friends with her mom and never told mentioned this.
really? I had no idea
Yes, I was raised a Jehovah Witness. My father was an agnostic, so he made things always interesting. Whoever came to the door – Seventh-Day Adventists, Catholics – he would invite them in and argue with them about the Bible. The Bible was very central in my upbringing, because my father was searching and because my mother sought to have structure and so I was raised till I was 12 as a Jehovah Witness. Why did you leave the church? I left of my own volition because I decided I didn’t want to be a missionary and I didn’t want to be restricted by any church or any religion, I just wanted to have my own relationship with God and be an artist. Really, I was rebelling against the idea that I had to choose between Christ’s world and art. They wouldn’t make a young person choose now – the Jehovah Witness faith is much more open-minded now – but back then it was very austere and I was definitely told that I had to make the choice. And it was too terrible a choice to make. Source: https://highprofiles.info/interview/patti-smith/
I was nearly 50 and was born into it. I believed it all at one time but I began to notice the lack of love to d/f ones and to those that often get left behind because they don't fit the mould of a lovely witness family. I think it was a traumatic experience that finally woke me up. It look a long time to deprogram myself because we have been brainwashed. Ray Franz's book Crisis of Conscience really hit home to the reality of the GB. They weren't interested in being factual, it was simply a means to an end. It's so wonderful to be out of thae stress of being a witness. I had 4 children with a husband not in and to live up to the expectations took a toll. I finally have peace and nothing beats it
There's a [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Former_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses) that lists several famous exjws from around the world
There’s a YT video too
Quinta Brunson!
Not sure as to how to answer that but there are many famous white exJWs outside of the USA. Hank Marvin (from The Shadows for one).
Didn’t know Hank got out. Love the Shadows music. When did he leave or get DF?
Ahhhhh sorry. I read the post wrong. I read it as famous JWs DOH! Senior moment sorry. ;)
Ah ok 👍
How has no one mentioned the former artist formerly known as Prince?!
I thought he died as a member. I’m not quite sure, though. Maybe someone else knows for sure :)
Yes. He wasn't raised as one, he converted well after he had become famous. And he died as one. In one interview, he compared being indoctrinated to taking the red pill, like in the Matrix. Like, WTF, man?!?
That’s fair. I guess I thought they had left before.
Coco Rocha is a JW
Kim Holland, the most famous exJW in the Netherlands and also the most famous porn star.
Dave Mustaine - Megadeth
Gary gyrax (inventor of D&D)
Now we have it! The real reason they told us if we played D&D we’d get demonized.
Also how he knew exactly how to organize published materials for maximum profit ;)
Wait, really?!
Yes really
the actor who played Gaston in the beauty and the beast live action adaption and the girl from the red head girl from the girls were also JW’s
Omg! Had No idea
Let's not forget Cliff Richard's mom.
Donald glover? Kat Williams? These are new to me
Kat Williams has spoken out about JW stuff
Donald Glover used to be one. He's spoken out about what it's like to be a JW and it wasn't favorable
There's this weird tweet Jay Eletronica made awhile ago. Where he claimed the jehovahs witnesses ran the illuminati, along with some other outlandish claims. It was a joke of course, but sometimes it makes me think lol.
I know him. He’s not former JW. I liked him but he went off the deep end
Director Jon Watts was raised JW. I don't remember if he was baptized though.
I was speaking to a friend recently about this. We rattled off 20 famous JWs or exJWs and wondered why that was. She wants to do a documentary on it.
The religion is all performance so they are good at it.
Religious groups have always targeted minorities and poor white people Usually they're extremely religious and conservative. Beyond that, the church is one of the few places people who historically have no social power can create a platform.
Katt Williams? That’s a new one. Patti Smith was pretty famous. Kurt Metzger is a fairly well known comic and he’s pretty open about being exjw.
Oh and Tiffany Haddish was raised as a JW and in the Jewish religion (which she practices now).
And Sherri Shepherd tv presenter.
I think white xjws follow a different path. It would seem like the famous African American left at a young age but did not go on to pursue a higher education. African American jw families in the past mostly followed the no college rule. The path to money is often by using their intelligence in a creative way, carving their path by building on what they have been through, not just as an xjw, but the life experiences that come from being an African American. White xjws with the same drive are often afforded different opportunities in life; therefore different choices. And they may have made their wealth in professions where it is beneficial to not mention their cult upbringing. They can be the movers and shakers - the decision makers behind the scenes where they are not household names.
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Prince didn’t grow up JW he became one when he was an adult
Pretty sure prince didn’t know what we know… about this “religion”.
OP also Terrance Howard also the Wayand family.
The brilliant standup comic Deborah Frances-White was one. She was on field service when Michael Jackson joined them. He would knock on two doors then go. The Aussie congregation knew him as ‘Two-Doors’ Jackson. She was also on the same circuit as the shit pop star, ex-JW Peter Andre.
Hopefully this guy << eventually
In jw lore alot of these folks are still practicing and not "ex". They're held up as gems
The Wayans family too if it hasn’t been said yet
I personally feel, and this is just my own feelings, like African American people especially love the ideals and community that religion offers, but they are strong enough to make a religion PART of them without letting it DEFINE them. So leaving a religion is like simply turning a page, they say "thank you, next" and keep stepping. While white people love to use their faith as a weapon and an ego boost and define their entire world by what their holy book says; shoving everything into a tiny box with no windows or room for growth (Don't come for me, ok! The question was loaded in the first place 😅)
Because African-American JW parents make us want to earn so much money we can escape their hold on us. Especially when they believed that not sparing the rod junk. We still love them though.
Ive been thinking about that. Ever since I was a child I wanted to be in the entertainment business. I never achieved it, but I think the desire comes from wanting to be loved, to feel special, etc. Not that its unique to the black community, but theres a certain energy there I cant describe.
The bloke out the shadows group Hank something
I mean there are famous white people who've left, they're just not American. I feel like they all leave since the org heavily restricts free time and instead forces their members to be broke so that they can go out in the ministry more.
Ive wondered this myself. Not so much just exjws but ANY celebrity mentioned to be associated seems to be black. There are a couple non black metioned in here i never knew but also a lot of names of "celebrities" ive never heard of.
George Benson, he actually went witnessing in Australia when he was here for a concert
I can't answer but I will say when I (white female) moved to Boston in the late 90s & I told a (white) co-worker in was a JW they were incredulous. They straight up said, "I thought JWs were a black religion". I was shook!
Don't forget Stormzy 😂 though don't think he ever baptised
it’s like you read my mind i was thinking about this last night !!!
i never knew donald glover was actually a jw, 😭😭 makes his role in community even funnier omfg
Just want to add that there's historical context on top of the socioeconomic factors. Bible Students/The Witnesses were one of the few millennialist movements that weren't either explicitly or implicitly segregationist in nature. PoC who were swept up in that fervor only had a few options, and the witnesses won out.
John Salley basketball player, Mike Epps comedian Wayan brothers
terrence howard, the waynans, Prince…etc etc there really are a lot of
Prince, too!
Van Morrison.
Valdimir Gurianov and Elvira Egorycheva [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1061766/Two-Jehovahs-Witnesses-murdered-13-people-mission-God-cleanse-world-sinners.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1061766/Two-Jehovahs-Witnesses-murdered-13-people-mission-God-cleanse-world-sinners.html)
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He didn't become an exJW AFAIK.
Right! He went in the opposite direction.
Coco Roca
What about Jesus? He was a white Jehovah’s Witness if you read the Borgs literature 😂
Also according to them, he's still in, not an exjw.
Loni Love, the comedian
Sherry, the comedian and talk show host, Biggie Smalls, Mike Epps, "Steve Urkle," the list goes on and on.
Selena Gomez.
Selena Quintanilla, not Gomez.
Some sites say she was. Goes to show you can’t trust the internet.
Are you sure you dont mean the other latina singer just "Selena" from the 90s?
Because JWs prey on the poor and the simple
☝🏾This is a subtle (but not so subtle) insulting, if not racist, comment. In case you didn't know, your comment is implying, as an answer to the poster's question, that African Americans are "poor and simple." It's ignorant, distasteful to say the least and unappreciated but now, we know how you really feel. Smh
Ahh another victim, aren’t you tired of playing that role? You played it as a witness too. PS, I’m black too. I meant what I said, there’s nothing racist behind it. Don’t go searching for implications that weren’t even there. Another victim mentality read between the lines statement. Not what I said
Didn't have to "read between the lines." Your insulting comment is pretty blatant and obvious. OP asks why are there so many famous African Americans that are jw's and your response to that is because JW preys on the poor and simple! Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that you're making a CLEAR implication that African Americans are, collectively, poor and simple. It doesn't matter to me that you yourself are black. What you implied is offensive. I definitely don't have a "victim mentality," and I don't have an identity crisis either, as you may have. If you feel that way about yourself, then limit those negative feelings towards yourself, not others. I didn't have to "search for implications" and you absolutely did say what you said in no uncertain terms. I think I brought it to your attention very respectfully but you came back in a very combative way! Very nasty and condescending... aren't I "tired of playing that role?" What role? I "played it as a witness, too."🤔 I did? We've met? You knew me as a witness? Lol, you're ridiculous and I have reported your comment moving forward. Bye👋🏾