Prominent Atlanta-area minister Pastor Jamal Bryant has spoken out about criticism of his wife’s lace black-and-nude illusion gown she wore at a recent fundraising gala.
At a New Birth Missionary Baptist Church service on Dec. 31, Bryant addressed the online backlash against the ensemble Dr. Karri Turner Bryant donned at the 42nd Annual United Negro College Fund Mayor’s Masked Ball a few days earlier, on Dec. 20.
The online discourse is mainly about what some consider appropriate versus inappropriate attire for the wife of a pastor, or what’s often referred to as the first lady of the church. Others online defended the dress and saw no issue with it.
Turner Bryant shared videos and photo montages from the fundraiser on Instagram, adding that she and her husband delivered the invocation at the event.
“You were the belle of the ball,” Bryant commented.
Bryant chimes in on the dress discussion
In front of the congregation on New Year’s Eve, Bryant defended his first lady: “The internet went crazy about a dress my wife had on.”
“They didn’t say anything about the $4 million that was raised for the United Negro College Fund. They never mentioned that she prayed until heaven came down. They never said anything about this was the largest fundraiser…for HBCUs in the country,” Bryant said.
“But insecure, jealous, petty, small-minded people got in their feelings and set up a false barometer of holiness based off of a dress,” he continued.
Bryant: ‘I bought the dress, and I like it’
Bryant, who became the Senior Pastor at New Birth in November 2018, clarified that his wife’s dress “was not see-through,” but rather “flesh color.”
“I need to set the record straight. I bought the dress, and I like it. I don’t care whether you like it or not. She ain’t married to y’all. She’s married to me,” Bryant explained as the crowd applauded. “Now, if you wanted a first lady that look like Little House on the Prairie and Holly Hobbie, you got the wrong church.”
A clip of the moment was shared on the church’s Instagram account, where Turner Bryant expressed love to her husband.
“Thank you! Not just for me, but for every woman who has experienced what I continue to walk through,” she wrote. “Your words have been like a healing salve to my heart and your arms like a warm bath. Not a day passes that you don’t affirm who I am and how much you love.”
Who is Jamal Bryant?
Bryant is a pastor, author and activist, and was one of the driving forces behind the Target boycott over diversity, equity and inclusion, which started last March and was orchestrated by Black faith leaders.
The church Bryant leads, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, is located in Stonecrest, which is about 20 minutes from Atlanta. Bryant married Turner Bryant in November 2024.
He was previously married to “The Real Housewives of Potomac” star Gizelle Bryant.
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].
