'The Sisterhood' Tackles Pornography on Latest Episode
"The Sisterhood," TLC network's reality television series highlighting the lives of preachers' wives in Atlanta, Ga., has been causing a stir in the Christian community and is tackling another controversial topic in its third episode, pornography.
In the episode scheduled to premiere on Tuesday night,Pastor Tara Lewis, the wife of Dr. Brian Lewis, and Pastor Dominique A. Scott, the wife of Pastor Brian Scott, are in a clothing store selecting outfits in a fitting room when the controversial topic arises. Tara, who is now serving as the executive producer and host of nationally broadcast Christian television show "Phenomenal Life Today" with her husband, seemed to question if pornography was an appropriate topic to speak about on her show.
"A friend of mine just found out her husband was watching pornography," Tara revealed to Dominique and another friend who were helping her select a dress. "Is this something that we should be bringing to Phenomenal Life Today?"
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When asked how she advised her friend, Tara revealed that she told the woman to stop being intimate with her husband.
"My suggestion is that in terms of our love making, in terms of that..that's shut down," Tara told the women.
When Tara's friend inquired about how that would help the situation, she replied by saying that cutting off intimacy would help him realize how his actions were resulting in consequences.
"Make him realize that he can lose his family and his marriage," Tara explained. "That's my point."
In her personal camera interview, Tara explained why she was so against pornography.
"Pornography is outside of marriage. It's carousing," the new television host and executive producer of the television Christian ministry stated. "It makes the society become worst. And if I'm correct, 80 percent of all pedophiles have watched pornography at some point."
However, Dominique did not seem too convinced that her fellow cast member's methods would work. She wondered if Tara's friend contributed to her husband's decision to watch pornography.
"Was she doing stuff with him before they got married that she's not doing anymore? Go back and tell her baby, don't hold back," Dominique told Tara. "Give him more if anything, distract him then. Do a flip and a cartwheel. Whatever you've got to do to get your man. "
While speaking to the camera in her personal interview, Dominique further questioned Tara's advice to her friend.
"I couldn't believe that Pastor Tara told this woman not to be intimate to her husband," Dominique said. "That's not love, that's judgement."
While Tara admitted that she never watched pornography, Dominique told her that her son would one day experiment with some form of the visual sexual material.
"What is your young teenage boy is going to be doing? He's going to get the magazines with the girls with the big boobies and they're going to go and experiment," Dominique told Tara. "That's what they do."
Tara looked shocked at the suggestion, telling her fellow castmate "naw baby. I'm already teaching, training."
Dominique did not seem too convinced about Tara's claims, while the two women disagreed on the topic. Since its debut episode on New Year's The Sisterhood has not shied away from highlighting controversial topics such as sex, a Christian Bar Mitzvah and disagreements between preachers' wives.
Some people have spoken out against the series, including well-known gospel recording artist and Perfecting Faith Church Pastor Donnie McClurkin.
"Why do we support such things like TLC's 'SISTERHOOD' showing the underbelly of 1st ladies, hurting the church image, giving God a bad name," McClurkin questioned over 100,000 Twitter followers. "I really wish ALL of Christiandom [sic] would do the same and boycott it. We have to defend the image of the KINGDOM! SPREAD THIS WORD."
A petition on Change.org titled "TLC Network: Cancel 'The Sisterhood'" seemed to showcase the frustration of some viewers who believed the premiere episode was "toxic and degrading."
Ivy Couch, the first lady of Emmanuel Tabernacle church led by her husband Pastor Mark Couch, was prepared for the backlash from some viewers. However, she feels the transparency of the preachers' wives featured on the show can heal people.
"I think other Christians act like they don't have problems anymore once they become Christian. So it's really an opportunity for me to be transparent because I think that's how we help people heal," Couch told The Christian Post. "So I think He's using this reality show, it is going to be groundbreaking and we're going to upset a lot of people. But I do also think that we're going to bring a lot of people to know Him personally."
"The Sisterhood" airs Tuesdays on TLC Networks at 9 p.m. ET.
