Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III has issued a videotaped apology to his estranged wife Prophetess Juanita Bynum. On Thursday, December 13, Weeks sent an eight-minute video email blast titled, “A Special Message from Bishop to his wife Juanita Bynum Weeks and the Global Destiny Family Worldwide.”
Weeks calls his message “the most important he’s ever sent” and promptly apologizes to Bynum for including her in his recently released book, What Love Taught Me. “In the book I share my weaknesses as a husband. I also share weaknesses on the other side of my spouse. From that I have wounded her and I want to say publicly, and privately from my heart, ‘I’m sorry,’” he says. According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the book, released by Global Destiny Church, included pages detailing the couple’s weaknesses with chapters including, “Opposites Attract, But Do They Last” and “She Wanted to Be the Next Oprah at Any Cost.”
Weeks has ordered an immediate withdrawal of the book and promises a full refund of the title, which retailed for $13.95, to anyone who has purchased a copy. It’s a surprising move, considering Weeks had started a media tour with appearances on the Tom Joyner Show on Monday and a radio interview with WAOK 1380 Power Talk host Lorraine Jacques-White earlier this week.
In the video, Weeks reveals that Bynum has sent him “a prayer shawl,” and admits the couple has not spoken since August 21, when Bynum accused Weeks of allegedly stomping and kicking her in an Atlanta hotel parking lot and filed a restraining order against her husband. Weeks has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and simple battery. Bynum opened up about the alleged assault in a two-part interview in ESSENCE. Part one, featured in the December 2007 issue, focused on the events that led up to the alleged assault, which still has tongues wagging in barbershops and beauty parlors across the country. In the current January 2008 issue, Bynum, 48, discusses steps for building a new ministry as the “new face of domestic violence.” Bynum has filed for a divorce, which is pending and declined to comment when contacted for this story.
