Did Katy Perry‘s parents pull a Trump and pocket a bunch of charity money for themselves?!
For those who don’t know, Keith and Mary Hudson (yes, Katy was born Kate Hudson LOLz!) are evangelical Christian preachers. They run a religious charity called Keith Hudson Ministries.
Only the recipients of everyone’s charity seem to be… Keith and Mary Hudson.
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According to tax documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the org raised $185,679 in 2019. However, they spent almost ALL of it — $178,046 — on “expenses,” which, according to the IRS docs, include:
- $84,058 – conference expenses
- $19,448 – tithes and offerings
- $12,112 – other expenses
- $8,799 – travel (air fare, etc)
- $7,620 – meals
- $6,900 – occupancy (hotel stays)
- $5,516 – auto expenses
After the expenses and their salaries, there was just $7,633 left. It’s unclear if even that minuscule amount actually goes to charity.
Why do they need to spend so much on hotels and air fare? Oh, that’s for the faith retreats they host. These “Arise Conferences” are held all over the world, but not in places torn apart by war or poverty like you’d expect from missionaries. No, these are vacay hot spots like Hawaii, Malaysia, France, Belgium, Panama, and Switzerland. And the events ain’t free.
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Fees range from $65 to 85 to attend — not including what attendees would pay in hotel bills. For instance, in October, Mary’s three-day event at the Wailea Beach Resort in Hawaii would have cost $650/night.
So… it’s a business? Where is the charity here? On their site they accept donations in brackets — much like a Kickstarter or Patreon — with “sponsors” receiving benefits such as vendor tables at their events and “advertisement on Arise Conferences social media” to sell their own products. (At the $5,000 VISION Sponsor level you get to have “Breakfast with Mary Hudson”!)
This all just sounds less like charity and more like what it’s called: sponsorship. They’re the NASCAR cars of evangelists? How is this charity? Their site explains:
“Your convenient, auto-debit gift of any amount is appreciated and establishes your commitment with this ministry as a friend and regular supporter. Giving is an expression of love and commitment to advance the work of the Kingdom of God. Know that your monthly donations help us to continue and expand our reach and help proclaim the Gospel worldwide.”
Near as we can tell, they are literally getting people to pay them to travel all over the world and charge other people to listen to them preach. In the most stunning vacation destinations around the world of course. We can’t help but wonder what percentage of their time they actually spend preaching on these trips…
The charity aspect seems to be donating free attendance to their events to abused women? Their site says:
“God has given us a voice… a voice that reaches out to women in domestic violence shelters and encourages them to overcome…”
So not actually giving those women in need things like first month’s rent in a new city, job interview skills, money for their children’s food… You know, CHARITY stuff. Yeesh, what a racket! Instead, what it sounds like, is their ministry has filed as a “charity” with the IRS for tax deductible donations… when all they seem to be doing is spending donor’s money on indulging themselves!
Remember how Katy Perry for the longest time was worried about embarrassing her parents with her filthy pop songs? And in 2018 how she lamented to Vogue Australia:
“My mom has prayed for me my entire life, hoping I’d come back to God. I never left Him, I was just a little bit secular. I was more materialistic and more career-driven.”
We have news for ya, gurl. The apple didn’t fall as far from the tree as you think.
[Image via FayesVision/WENN.]
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