Jim Bakker, Controversial Televangelist, Dies at 86

Jim Bakker, a controversial televangelist who built a significant Christian television empire with his ex-wife Tammy Faye Bakker, died on Monday at the age of 86. His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced his death and mourned him as her husband and best friend. Bakker rose to fame in the 1970s through The PTL Club, a popular Christian television show that drew up to 13 million viewers at its peak. However, scandal struck when he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy for misusing $400 million in ministry funds and later implicated in a sex scandal involving the payment of $279,000 hush money to a church secretary who alleged sexual assault. Bakker spent about five years in prison before being released. Despite his fall from grace, he revived his career post-incarceration with new television shows like "The Jim Bakker Show" and continued as a prominent figure among supporters of former US President Donald Trump until recently living near Branson, Missouri.